Leah Nelson
The Fayetteville Veterans Affairs Medical Center improved its Strategic Analytic Improvement and Learning ratings from 2015 to 2016 by three stars.
SAIL measures patient satisfaction with their care, the hospital’s measure of disease and infection rates at the hospital, said Melinda Warren, group practice manager for the Fayetteville VA Medical Center.
Mark Worley, the chief of staff at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center said the SAIL data is a comparison of all the VA hospitals and if they are not improving like the other hospitals their rating will go down.
SAIL scores are also influenced by the Survey of Healthcare Experience of Patients which is completed after a veteran’s appointment is finished. The survey looks at same day care such as if the patient got a call from the doctor and if they saw a specialist like a nurse, pharmacist or doctor.
The SAIL numbers were something the Fayetteville VA had been wanting to improve, by working on the areas which they had the lowest scores. Since there are some services they do not offer, it lowers their score, said Wanda Shull public information officer for the Fayetteville VA.
Every morning the Fayetteville VA has a patient list of sensitive conditions in order to help them manage their patients. They also work to treat their patients the best they can to prevent readmission which lowers their score as well.
Eric Sjoquist, 71, is a retired serviceman from the Marine Corps who has had good experiences with the Fayetteville VA Medical Center.
“I’m real satisfied,” Sjoquist said. “They take good care of me.”
Every time Sjoquist has been to the Fayetteville VA, the buildings are clean, the staff is friendly and they know what they’re doing. Sometimes there might be a wait but it’s not bad because the staff lets the patient know what’s going on. When a patient’s appointment is coming up, the staff sends them a reminder of it, Sjoquist said.
“Most of the time I get a call and a letter,” he said.
When Sjoquist first visited the Fayetteville VA, they ran a number of tests on him as an evaluation to make sure he was getting everything he needed.
“They don’t let you slack,” Sjoquist said.
Sjoquist previously lived in the state of Washington where he would sometimes visit the VA. He only went to the VA there a few times because it was too crowded and there were a lot of other veterans there that needed more care than he did.
Bob Lents, a 96-year-old retired serviceman who served in World War II, said he’d seen some improvement between 2015 and 2016 but the Fayetteville VA still had things it could work on such as the food, saying it’s too spicy, and that they needed more responsible employees.
“People don’t show up to work and then they’re shorthanded,” he said.
Lents lives at the Veterans Home which is on the grounds of the Fayetteville VA Medical Center and said he uses the VA for his hearing and vision.
Eric Sjoquist
Age: 71
Address: 2398 S. Maestri Rd.
Phone: 253-307-5527
Email: gbear9046@hotmail.com
Bob Lents
Age: 96
Address: 1179 N College (Veterans Home)
Phone: 479-444-7001 (Veterans Home front desk, he didn’t remember his phone number)
Email: dee.kortzman@arkansas.gov (Lady from Veterans Home that was helping them at the American Legion)
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