Our veterans have placed their lives on the line to fight for our freedoms. Their sacrifices cannot be repaid. But we can honor and serve them every day through our commitment to provide them the best possible health care experience.
The VA Salt Lake City Health Care System takes that responsibility very seriously.
The recent attention concerning one of our own heroes’ treatment in a messy and unsightly room was unacceptable. I can assure you this is not how we do business and we were equally disturbed by the images shared widely across several media outlets. We fell short in providing our veteran with a positive experience, and I know I can speak for the entire staff when I say we take it personally. Since then, we have taken aggressive measures to ensure this does not happen again.
To our veterans: Your health and well-being is our No. 1 priority, and if you are ever dissatisfied for any reason, please let us know right away. We never want you to question our passion for serving you.
I have appreciated hearing the positive stories from many of our veterans since the incident. I have also welcomed constructive feedback, which allows us the opportunity to improve.
I am proud to serve as director for the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System. If anything, this experience has made us even more committed to the mission. We know our work is never done and we can always do better when it comes to serving veterans.
Shella Stovall, Salt Lake City
