There are serious, systemic problems in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Top officials have been subpoenaed after a series of whistleblowers alleged neglect and a coverup of inadequate medical services by VA doctors.
The story started in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Samuel Foote, a now-retired doctor at the VA hospital in Phoenix, was the first to claim that in order to deal with complaints about long wait times and make it look like they did not have as much backup as they actually did, hospital officials kept a secret, unofficial list of veterans waiting for appointments. The list was never reported, and if a patient on the list died, they were just permanently erased. The allegations state that these lists have since been destroyed. Since Dr. Foote came out with this claim, several other hospital employees have told similar stories.
Individuals have also come forward with their frustrating experiences with the VA hospital in Phoenix. One woman claims that her father-in-law, Thomas Breen, went in for emergency care related to cancer, but the staff told him he needed to make an appointment with a VA doctor. He never got that appointment because he was placed on a wait list and died in the meantime.
Breen isn’t the only patient who may have died because of this secret list system — up to 40 veterans’ deaths may be a result of negligence and mismanagement at the VA hospital.
These allegations have made a wave in the VA community and among officials in Washington. Originally, the VA claimed that the so-called unofficial list was just a set of transitory reminder notes for the doctors between themselves, nothing legitimate or official. The VA claims that those notes were just used while the hospital was switching computer systems, and then were destroyed. So far, many top officials have been subpoenaed by the House Veterans Affairs Committee, including the head of the VA, Eric Shinseki. He has been ordered to turn over any information, including emails and documents, that could relate to what happened in Phoenix. The subpoena specifically seeks information about the “unofficial list.” Shineski has until 9:00am Monday, May 19 to comply with the order.
Shinseki is receiving a mountain of pressure after the whole incident. Some special-interest veterans groups want him to resign while others are standing behind the chief. The largest veterans group in the U.S., the American Legion, has come out in favor of Shinseki’s resignation. American Legion Commander Daniel Dellinger stated, “It’s a story of poor oversight and failed leadership. This is the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do.” Other major veterans groups haven’t called for Shinseki’s resignation, but have condemned the actions of the VA hospital in Phoenix.
On the other hand, the Obama Administration and Speaker Boehner have stood behind Shinseki and the VA.
There is the chance that this was a select incident that occurred at the Phoenix VA hospital. But somehow, I doubt that. This isn’t the first issue the VA has had in its hospitals in recent years — they’ve already acknowledged that approximately 23 patients have died because of delayed care in the past couple of years. There have also been allegations that workers in the Fort Collins, Colo. hospital were taught how to falsify records, and there have been problems in multiple other cities.
There’s clearly an issue here that warrants attention. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have added a new pool of veterans into our communities, and those who fought in Vietnam and Korea are getting older and developing more health problems. Costs are just getting worse for the VA — in 2012 it spent $57 billion on disability benefits alone, after spending just $15 billion in 2000. The Department of Veterans Affairs is clearly struggling to keep up with demand, and this may be one of the heartbreaking side effects.
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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.
Featured image courtesy of [DVIDSHUB via Flickr]