NYT: VA Staff Members Fired For Objecting To "Falisfied" Schedules & Other Abuses | Doctor: "The VA Isn’t A Place Where You Speak Out"
Today in Washington, D.C. - June 16, 2014The Senate will reconvene at 2 PM today. At 5:30, the Senate will vote on cloture on the nominations of three district judges. If cloture is invoked on any of the nominees, confirmation votes will be held Tuesday morning.
The House is not in Session today. The House will reconvene at Noon on Tuesday, July 17, 2014.
Last week, acting VA Inspector General Richard Griffin was on Capitol Hill updating members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee about his investigation of the VA scandal. According to Griffin, more than 57,000 veterans have waited longer than 90 days to see a doctor. Even worse, USA Today reported, "The agency also found evidence that in the past 10 years, nearly 64,000 veterans who sought VA care were simply never seen by a doctor." Griffin also revealed that his investigation has now expanded to 69 hospitals, up from 42 two weeks ago. His investigation has identified "some supervisors" responsible for the falsification of records, and the FBI has reportedly launched a criminal investigation of the Phoenix VA system. It has also been reported that the bonus payments have been stopped.
After weeks and weeks of reports about the VA scandal and the treatment of whistleblowers in the agency, The New York Times gathers some in a must-read story today going through cases from all over the country.
According to the NYT, “Dr. Jacqueline Brecht, a former urologist at the Alaska V.A. Healthcare System in Anchorage, said in an interview that she had a heated argument with administrators at a staff meeting in 2008 when she objected to using phantom appointments to make wait times appear shorter, as they had instructed her. She said that the practice amounted to medical fraud, and complained about other patient care problems as well. Days later, a top administrator came to Dr. Brecht’s clinic, put her on administrative leave, and had security officers walk her out of the building. . . . Her complaints were corroborated by other Alaska personnel and were the subject of an email that Dr. Brecht sent to a military doctor at the time. . . . Kathy Leatherwood, a nurse and unit manager at the Alaska V.A., said in an interview that she also objected in 2008 to the use of phantom appointments. She said administrators directed her to schedule fake appointments for new patients within 30 days without even notifying the patients. She was then supposed to mark the patient as a “no show” or a cancellation and schedule a real appointment for later, she said. That way, the official record would show the veteran was offered a quick appointment within the required turnaround period. Ms. Leatherwood said that she, too, went to V.A. administrators to object. ‘It’s my name that’s going to be on that chart,’ she remembered telling one administrator. The administrator responded that if she was unwilling to carry out the policy, he would find someone who would, she said. When she continued objecting, he threatened to call security if she did not leave his office.”
And in Texas, “In court filings detailing the V.A. response to other problems, Dr. Ram Chaturvedi, formerly with the Dallas V.A. Medical Center, said that he began complaining in 2008 about shoddy patient care, including negligence by nurses who had marked the wrong kidney while preparing a patient for a procedure. In another instance, Dr. Chaturvedi said medical personnel had brought the wrong patient to an operating table. A supervisor told Dr. Chaturvedi to ‘let some things slide’ because of staffing problems, but he continued writing up complaints. Officials considered him disruptive and fired him in 2010.”
Then there’s a report from Delaware. “At the V.A. Medical Center in Wilmington, Del., Michelle Washington, a psychologist treating soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, also found her worries unwelcome. She said in an interview that she faced retaliation when she testified in 2011 to a Senate committee about staffing shortages that she said left veterans waiting dangerously long for psychological help. A week before her scheduled appearance, Dr. Washington said she received an evaluation downgrading her performance at the hospital from ‘outstanding’ to ‘unsatisfactory,’ citing management complaints she had never heard before. She was also stripped of some psychological treatment duties. ‘I’m not sure how I went from outstanding to unsatisfactory in 30 days,’ Dr. Washington said. ‘The only intervening thing was my testimony.’”
An almost unbelievable case comes from Pennsylvania. “In Pittsburgh, two V.A. doctors specializing in Legionnaires’ disease, Dr. Janet Stout and Dr. Victor Yu, said they were forced out after complaining about budget and salary matters in 2006. The V.A. then closed their lab and destroyed their specimens — decisions the doctors contend contributed to a 2011 outbreak of Legionnaires’ at the Pittsburgh hospital that killed six people. ‘The V.A. isn’t a place where you speak out,’ Dr. Stout said in an interview. Dr. Yu called the department’s decision to close his lab ‘malicious,’ and added in an interview that ‘I fall into a category that the V.A. absolutely abhors — whistle-blowers.’”
Finally, the Times reports on a case from Illinois. “One way the V.A. has silenced whistle-blowers, their lawyers maintain, is by threatening to hold them in violation of patient privacy laws if they discuss medical cases. That happened in a 2007 case in Chicago, where Dr. Anil Parikh was fired after reporting ‘systematic problems’ that he said delayed patient care. In terminating him, the V.A. charged that he had violated confidentiality laws by reporting his concerns to the inspector general and to Barack Obama, at the time a senator from Illinois, and other government officials, court filings show. After four years, a grievance panel reinstated Dr. Parikh with back pay.”
As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said last week, “[T]he systemic failures and scandals we’ve seen within the Administration are a national disgrace. When you see 100,000 veterans waiting for care that’s a national disgrace. When you see so many veterans waiting 3 months or longer just to get an appointment that’s a national disgrace. And when you see veterans dying before they even receive care they were counting on, well, it’s completely unacceptable.”
Tags: VA Scandal, falsified scandals, systemic failures To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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