It was slow in coming, but the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is taking notice of the great work Augusta's military hospitals are doing in rehabilitating severely wounded troops.

Not only is the VA taking notice, it's taking action too.

This month the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center finally got its federal recovery coordinator, the medical expert charged with helping injured troops wade through streams of bureaucratic red tape in order to get the care and benefits to which they're entitled.

This assignment grew out of recommendations made last year by the presidential panel formed after news reports of patient neglect and bureaucratic foul-ups at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

While Walter Reed was in hot water, the Eisenhower Medical Center was ranked among the nation's top three military hospitals for taking in the most medical evacuees from Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, Augusta's Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center was hailed for its rehab work with troops suffering from spinal cord and brain damage, limb amputations, vision problems and other catastrophic injuries.

Even so, the VA dispatched its first dozen recovery coordinators to other hospitals. Yikes!

But this week, U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake toured the Eisenhower and Norwood medical centers with members of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, including Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.

Peake was clearly impressed, particularly with the collaboration between the Eisenhower and Norwood centers, which are on the cutting edge of delivering 21st century health care for maimed and injured troops.

Peake even spoke of expanding primary care space at the Uptown VA off Wrightsboro Road and adding another federal coordinator as caseloads increase.

With a new administration taking office in January, one could be cynical and note it may not matter what Peake says because he'll soon be losing his post. Perhaps, but the VA is not a Cabinet agency where incoming and outgoing administrations are likely to clash. Regardless of political differences elsewhere, all administrations are committed to continuity in providing the best possible care to our war-torn troops.

The excellent work of Augusta's hospitals should stay on the VA's radar regardless of who's in charge. That's good news for our city -- and even better news for our military's hurt and injured men and women.