dr. higgins, can you answer those questions for me fordo facility? > i find myself in a similar situation as dr. o'brien. on the inpatient ptsd unit we have a full-time ta, and with a psychiatrist who supervises that work. i'll have to get back to you with respect to told him a psychiatrist in the facility. >> can you give me a ballpark? >> let me get me back -- let me get back to you about that. >> do you think we have sufficient number of psychiatrist in the v.a. system to treat these issues? >> under our review we looked at the staffing specifically of particular residential programs so i will not be a blue comment on the adequacy of the staffing for the other 140 the facilities as far as outpatient services. we found that there was adequate staffing for the particular programs that we reviewed for residential and inpatient and major. >> i'm concerned about the testimony we heard from the first panel that they are being seen by medical students, but untrained professionals, and really would like an answer back about whether or not we have adequate

dr. higgins, can you answer the questions for me for your facility? >> thank you for the question. i find myself in a similar situation as dr. o'brian. on the in-patient, we have a full-time pa and arnp with a psychiatrist who supervises that work. i'll have to get back to you with respect to the total number of psychiatrists in the facility. >> do you have a ballpark? >> let me get back to you about that. >> okay. you talked a little bit about staffing in the previous question. do you think that if we have sufficient number of psychiatrists in the va system to treat these issues? >> under our review, we looked at the staffing specifically of particular residential programs, so i would not be able to comment on the adequacy of staffing for the other 140va facilities as far as availability of out-patient services. there's staffing for the particular programs we reviewed, which were residential, and in-patient in nature. >> i'm concerned about the testimony we heard from the first panel, that they're seen by medical students, untrained professionals, and really would like an answer ba

dr. higgins? >> i would be happy to. with respect to our unit, we do have doors that can be locked at night and so on. we maintain the physical security of those rooms. i think that the message is best delivered every time we interact with a female who comes into the ba. into the va. individual contact makes a difference. my staff is well trained and committed to that. gravity ofstand the that as we work with these women and men who have been sexually traumatized. >> thank you. mr. chairman, thank you for indulging me to exceed my time. thank you. >> thank you very much. i would like to yield a couple ownleyinutes to ms. br from california. she has an inquiry. >> thank you. this is really for dr. shepherd. we have heard testimony a lot, but one area i want to focus on is the transition area from dod to the va for the military sexual assault victims. understanding -- way back in 2009, there was a dod-va mental health summit, and from that summit there was an agreed- upon strategy coming out from the dod and the va, but we

higgins: mr. speaker, western new york has distinguished itself as a leader in cutting-edge medical research. buffalo gave the world cancer research when new york cancer laboratory was first established by dr97. today the buffalo niagara medical campus grows and thrives with the expansion of the park, plans for the university of buffalo medical school, and construction of a new woman and children's hospital. i'm pleased to say that today western new yorkers continue to receive good news about the availability and accessibility of health care. yesterday "the new york times" reported that new york state health insurance purchased through the state of exchanges will reduce, reduce insurance rates by at least 50%. additionally, thanks to the affordable care act, 37,000 kids with pre-existing conditions will not be denied coverage because by law they can't be denied coverage. mr. speaker, health care should be affordable and accessible to all americans. the progress we have already seen is promising and we must keep moving forward. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek