
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 18, 1990                   TAG: 9004180336
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

VETS CHIEF TOURS SALEM FACILITY/WARNER HOPEFUL CUTS CAN BE RESTORED

Sen. John Warner said Tuesday he is hopeful that bed space and workers cut at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem can be restored during the next fiscal year.

Warner, with Secretary of Veterans Affairs Edward J. Derwinski, visited the Salem center as part of a fact-finding sweep through the state's three veterans medical facilities. Their visit in Salem included a tour of the center's long-term care unit and oncology unit and a question-and-answer session with staff and representatives of veterans organizations.

A 44-bed building at the Salem center was closed last month and there are plans to close more by October. The number of employees at the center is expected to drop to 1,300 from the 1,576 employed there four years ago.

"I'm hopeful that the coming budget will include restoration of those buildings and additional employees," Warner said.

The $12.3 billion veterans' health budget proposed by President Bush for the upcoming fiscal year falls $690 million short of what's needed to restore medical care to essential levels of service for veterans, according to claims by veterans organizations.

Asked if his department was having budgetary problems, Derwinski said, "You never have as much money as you would like to have."

Bob Fetzer, vice president of the Salem center's 600-member union, said the group had considered staging a protest Tuesday in support of an independent budget developed by four veterans organizations. The budget concludes that the system needs a minimum of $13.4 million to maintain current veterans health care system.

"But Warner has been very compassionate and sensitive, so we decided against [a protest]," Fetzer said. "He's been a friend of ours. We want to do all we can to drive our point across but maintain a positive relationship with his office."

by CNB