Va Hospital To Receive Gore Hammer Award

The Spokane Veterans Affairs Medical Center will receive a congratulatory pounding Tuesday afternoon.

The hospital will receive The Hammer Award, Vice President Al Gore’s tribute to bureaucracies committed to saving tax dollars.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington will present the award on behalf of President Clinton’s National Performance Review at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the medical center’s Nursing Home Care Unit.

Federal regulators in June awarded the hospital a rare perfect score on its annual inspection.

The VA hospital has streamlined care in the past year, increasing outpatient care and almost slicing in half the average length of stay. The medical center now provides a private or semiprivate room to every patient, instead of the former three to four beds per room.

The annual pile of soiled laundry has been reduced by 200,000 pounds. The number of inpatient meals has been cut by 30 percent.

The Hammer Award is Gore’s answer to the $600 government hammer of the past. The award is a $6 hammer, a ribbon and a notecard from Gore, all in an aluminum frame. , DataTimes