Ortiz asks subcommittee for VA hospital in Rio Grande Valley

WASHINGTON (AP) - Rep. Solomon Ortiz, backed by a handful of Rio Grande Valley veterans, beseeched a House subcommittee Thursday to build a veterans hospital in South Texas.

"Here with me today are members of the Veterans Alliance of the Rio Grande Valley, so you can see the faces of South Texas affected by the lack of a hospital," said Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi.

The closest hospital is in San Antonio, as many as five hours in a car from the southernmost parts of the Rio Grande Valley.

The VA contracts with local hospitals for care, but only about 10 beds are available for a population of about 140,000 veterans. That number swells during the winter when people from colder climates, known as "Winter Texans," migrate to the Rio Grande Valley, Ortiz said.

He turned over a stack of written personal stories from veterans detailing problems they have getting health care. He removed names to avoid any problems for the veterans, he said.

Some of the stories included:

_ A veteran underwent emergency heart surgery and was told by VA to follow up with a local cardiologist since there was no cardiologist at the local VA clinic. VA did not pay on his third visit, and the cardiologist's office told him he'd have to pay up front for all future services.

_ A retired veteran spent the night in his car after shoulder surgery so the anesthesia could wear off. He didn't take pain medication so he could make the four-hour drive home, but had to stop several times on the way to vomit from pain.

_ Families have to take off from work, arrange care for children and pay expenses above reimbursements for travel expenses to take loved ones to the San Antonio hospital.

Ortiz said there are no ambulances to transport veterans who need care. A van is now available, but some veterans are bedridden and cannot travel comfortably in a van.

"Some of the older people are having prostate problems. They go there just to see their appointment canceled. Then they have to drive back again. This is something I cannot understand," Ortiz said. "We can find money to go fight a war, in the billions of dollars, but for some reason we cannot find money for the promises we made."

His arguments persuaded Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., who said he wanted to co-sponsor Ortiz's bill.

"We'll find the money. We've got it. I said before, we ought to take it out of Paris Hilton's tax break," Hare said.

Under Ortiz's bill, Congress could set up a public-private venture to provide health and long term care at an existing facility; build a new, 50-bed hospital with a 125-bed nursing home; and set up an agreement with the Defense Department to share a facility to provide care.