Data Journalism Backup Site

Here is my optional tagline

Day 8 Class Sept 14

by | Sep 14, 2017 | Student_Work

VA Background

 
—Key findings from background research on VA health and wait times.
—Key questions on VA dataset and supporting documentation.
  
Data: va_wait_completed: VA station completed wait times information
 
Documentation  VA Wait Time Goals
 
VA background report on the wait times controversy:
VA Facility List by State (Remember, Fayetteville and Memphis VA spill into other states)

Timeline for Major VA Events

Post One Item on the following spreadsheet so we have a timeline of major events in the VA hospital wait scandal.

You have to follow the format from the first entry, especially the date and the link format. Otherwise, this system breaks down and it is useless.

Timeline Link

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iZ_BaL9HrpiwuwCj9mtoXiYQjs5WHKoY3fly6HRoE9w/edit#gid=0

 

 

Links to Key Articles

NPR
Walsh, KPBS Steve, et al. “VA Hospitals Still Struggling With Adding Staff Despite Billions From Choice Act.” NPR, NPR, 31 Jan. 2017, www.npr.org/2017/01/31/512052311/va-hospitals-still-struggling-with-adding-staff-despite-billions-from-choice-act.
 
USA TODAY
(April 8, 2016 Friday ). VA bosses falsified veterans’ wait times; Recently released reports detail extent of problems
at U.S. medical centers. USA TODAY, Retrieved from
 
Slack, Donovan. “Inaccurate VA Wait Times Preclude Thousands of Vets from Getting Outside Care, Probe Finds.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 3 Mar. 2017, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/03/veterans-affairs-inspector-general-widespread-inaccuracies-wait-times/98693856/.
 
 
DAYTON DAILY NEWS ARTICLES
Fix this link
Barber, Barrie (May 28, 2012). VA mental health care wait too long; VA report supports complaints that wait is averaging 50 days. Dayton Daily News. Retrieved from http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.library.uark.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/.
 
(March 4, 2017 Saturday ). LONG, ERRONEOUS WAIT TIMES STILL TORMENT VETERANS; VA inspector general review found widespread inaccuracies at Veterans Affairs medical facilities in North Carolina and Virginia. Dayton Daily News (Ohio), http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.library.uark.edu/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=5N10-JJW1-JC1N-W2MX&csi=270944,270077,11059,8411&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true
 
 
(April 9, 2015 Thursday ). WAIT TIMES STILL PROBLEM FOR VA; Investigation shows no improvement despite funds.; I-TEAM INVESTIGATION DAYTON VA. Dayton Daily News (Ohio), Retrieved from WAIT TIMES STILL PROBLEM FOR VA; Investigation shows no improvement despite funds.; I-TEAM INVESTIGATION DAYTON VA Dayton Daily News (Ohio) April 9, 2015 Thursday
 
Writer, M. E. (2017, August 14). VA patient wait times could see improvement. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/va-patient-wait-times-could-see-improvement/article_62763f63-af8b-57e0-9907-e094f443f5ea.html
 
MISC
Yoder, Eric. House committee skeptical of VA wait-time figures. (2016, April 20 ).The
 
Thompson, Ben. Why aren’t newly enrolled US veterans receiving timely care?; Despite efforts
of review and reform, a new report from the Government Accountability Office shows weeks-long wait times and scheduling challenges. . (2016, April 19). The Christian Science Monitor.http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.library.uark.edu/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=5JK1-XF81-JC8H-M2YJ&csi=237924&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true
 
 
Mauriell, T. (June 24, 2017 Saturday ). TRUMP SIGNS LAW ALLOWING VA WORKERS TO BE FIRED MORE EASILY. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Retrieved from http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.library.uark.edu/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=5NVW-M901-DYRS-T4K6&csi=270944,270077,11059,8411&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true
 
Yen, H., Daly, M. (July 28, 2017 Friday ). House moves to extend choice program, end VA budget crisis; Veterans Choice allows vets to receive private medical care at government expense.. The Salt Lake Tribune, Retrieved from http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.library.uark.edu/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=5P4B-P321-DYT5-M2KB&csi=270944,270077,11059,8411&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true
 
Lemire, J. (2017, August 12). Donald Trump Signs $2 Billion Veterans Affairs Bill. Retrieved September 14, 2017, from http://time.com/4898296/donald-trump-bill-funding-veterans-affairs/
 
Migoya, David. (2017, July 27). Wait times at Colorado VA facilities among worst in the nation, new data show. The Denver Post. Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/27/colorado-veterans-affairs-facilities-long-wait-time/
 
Fix this link (August 4, 2017, Friday ). Trump promotes using technology to improve veterans health care. Charleston Gazette-Mail, Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic
 
 
Fix this link
 
Fix this link
 
Fix this link
 
Military, D. B. (July 3, 2014 Thursday). New data shows slightly longer wait times at Fayetteville VA Medical Center. “The Fayetteville Observer” (Fayetteville, North Carolina). Retrieved from http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.library.uark.edu/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=5CK9-2WX1-JC6P-C045&csi=270944,270077,11059,8411&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true
 
GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
(August 6, 2017 Sunday). Washington: Sanders Introduces Bill to Strengthen Veterans’ Health Care. US Official News, Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic
 
Federal Register
Washington: VA update on data and wait times. (2016, April 6). Newswire. Retrieved September 13, 2017, from http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.library.uark.edu/lnacui2api/auth/checkbrowser.do?ipcounter=1&cookieState=0&rand=0.027155121602499666&bhcp=1

Calculations and Pivot Tables

Pivot Tables

pivottables

worldbank

 

Backup material:

http://spreadsheets.about.com/od/datamanagementinexcel/ss/8912pivot_table.htm#step1

Jour 405V: Data Journalism

Assignment #1: VA Fayetteville Data – Wait Times

Lemke Digital Media Lab Course, Fall 2017

School of Journalism and Strategic Media

For this assignment, you will analyze a spreadsheet of wait times for Veteran’s Administration hospitals in Fayetteville and Little Rock and write a short story based on your analysis.

The assignment is due Sunday, Sept. 17, 11:59 p.m. on Blackboard.

You are to post an article on Microsoft Word (no PDFs or other file formats) and upload your completed spreadsheet, which will include one pivot table analyzing the data.

The Veterans Administration in 2014 suffered a major scandal when it was revealed that VA employees in many offices lied about how quickly they saw patients and some veterans died waiting for medical care. This dataset will allow us to see trend in wait times at the local hospitals.

Examine the data and determine the overall trend for the Fayetteville and Little Rock hospitals. Compare the two. What percentage of the appointments were within 30 days? What percentage were longer? What other trends did you discover?

Source materials:

1) Data: va_wait_completed: VA station completed wait times information

2) Documentation  VA Wait Time Goals

https://www.va.gov/HEALTH/docs/VA_Report_Section101-PL_113-146-Final.pdf

2) Three news articles of background research on VA wait times you will gather on LexisNexis Academic, not Google. This assignment forces you to use LexisNexis Academic, a premier news database available through the university’s library.

Here’s a background report on the wait times controversy to get you started.

https://www.va.gov/health/docs/VAAccessAuditFindingsReport.pdf

You do not have to do interviews for this assignment. Make sure to clearly attribute any background information to the correct source. Include a brief bibliography of your source articles, with permanent links, and follow APA style.

Rubric:

Data: 50%: Pivot table. Percent of whole

Writing: 30%: A clear lede supported by data and research

Research: 20%: Relevant articles cited correctly. Correct attribution

Background:

LexisNexis Academic

 http://libraries.uark.edu/eresources/help.asp?TitleCode=UNIV