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By KEITH ROGERS 
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL 
 
Peggy Kearns keeps the motto of the Department of Veterans Affairs, coined in 1865 by President Abraham Lincoln, front of mind as she works to ensure that military veterans in Southern Nevada receive prompt, quality medical attention: “Care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” 
 
But Kearns, director of the Veteran Affairs Southern Nevada Healthcare System, said living up to Lincoln’s edict in his second inaugural address is challenging, despite a $464 million annual budget. 
 
The biggest problem, she said, is recruiting and retaining doctors and health care professionals in an area that’s short of them. 
 
“We’re working on our access challenge by looking at our processes and how we can be more efficient in using our staff, our physicians and how we schedule people,” she said. “Everyday we track how we are getting people in, and how fast we’re getting them in, and looking at how we can do that quicker and better.” 
 
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