[inaudible conversations] the committee will come to order. Good evening and thank you all for being here and joining us. Its a somewhat unusual for the committee to meet in the evening hours. Tonights topic is one worth staying up late for. I want to keep our work this evening laser focused on the future on how we can all Work Together to create a better, brighter, healthier one for our veterans and for the Health Care System that weve built to serve. Rather than rehashing the mistakes we made long ago. As we begin to move forward this evening we mustnt lose sight of where we started. Three years ago next month in this very room, the Committee Heard testimony from a veteran who spoke about waiting almost a year for care from the department of Veterans Affairs medical facility in south carolina. When he was finally seen long after he should have been, he was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer that had spread to his liver and his lungs. He passed away in january last year. It was hi
[inaudible conversations] the committee will come to order. Good evening and thank you all for being here and joining us. Its a somewhat unusual for the committee to meet in the evening hours. Tonights topic is one worth staying up late for. I want to keep our work this evening laser focused on the future on how we can all Work Together to create a better, brighter, healthier one for our veterans and for the Health Care System that weve built to serve. Rather than rehashing the mistakes we made long ago. As we begin to move forward this evening we mustnt lose sight of where we started. Three years ago next month in this very room, the Committee Heard testimony from a veteran who spoke about waiting almost a year for care from the department of Veterans Affairs medical facility in south carolina. When he was finally seen long after he should have been, he was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer that had spread to his liver and his lungs. He passed away in january last year. It was hi
[inaudible conversations] the committee will come to order. Good evening and thank you all for being here and joining us. Its a somewhat unusual for the committee to meet in the evening hours. Tonights topic is one worth staying up late for. I want to keep our work this evening laser focused on the future on how we can all Work Together to create a better, brighter, healthier one for our veterans and for the Health Care System that weve built to serve. Rather than rehashing the mistakes we made long ago. As we begin to move forward this evening we mustnt lose sight of where we started. Three years ago next month in this very room, the Committee Heard testimony from a veteran who spoke about waiting almost a year for care from the department of Veterans Affairs medical facility in south carolina. When he was finally seen long after he should have been, he was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer that had spread to his liver and his lungs. He passed away in january last year. It was hi
Focused on the future and how we can Work Together to create a better, brighter healthier one for the Healthcare System rather than on rehashing the mistakes we made long ago. As we begin to move forward, we must not lose sight of where we started. Years ago, next month in this very room, the Committee Heard testimony from a veteran named barry coates who spoke about waiting almost a year for care at the department of Veterans Affairs facility of south carolina. He was finally seen long after he should have been. He was diagnosed for colon cancer that had spread to his liver and to his lungs. He passed away in january last year. It was garys story and accompanying allegations that 40 veteran patients had died while waiting to receive care for the Va Medical Center in phoenix arizona that kicked off a nationwide access and accountability scandal the likes of which the da had never seen. It also led directly to the creation of the Choice Program and to the allocation of billions more tax
With be a secretary david show ulkin. This is two hours and 20 minutes. [inaudible conversation] the committee will come to order. We thank all of you for being here and joining us tonight. Its somewhat unusual for the committee to meet in the evening hours for a conference we are staying up late for. I want to keep our work laser focused on the future and how we can Work Together to create a better, brighter healthier one for the Healthcare System rather than on rehashing the mistakes we made long ago. As we begin to move forward, we must not lose sight of where we started. Years ago, next month in this very room, the Committee Heard testimony from a veteran named barry coates who spoke about waiting almost a year for care at the department of Veterans Affairs facility of south carolina. He was finally seen long after he should have been. He was diagnosed for colon cancer that had spread to his liver and to his lungs. He passed away in january last year. It was garys story and accompa