Ohio’s senators expressed outrage and demanded swift action after a recent investigation exposed misconduct, disorder, and inadequate care at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs hospital in Cincinnati.
Sen. Rob Portman (R), who is running for reelection in 2016, labeled the allegations “very troubling” Wednesday and called for the VA inspector general and Congress to move quickly and “get to the bottom” of the reports, according to local WCPO. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said later that action needs to be taken by the committee, Congress, and the VA to make sure that problems are fixed.
The VA said that it had opened a probe into the VA Medical Center in Cincinnati after a WCPO-Scripps News Washington Bureau investigation citing 34 current and former hospital staffers pointed to misconduct at the facility.
Specifically, investigators found that two VA administrators were responsible for cuts in medical services for veterans, reductions in staffing, and the presence of dirty surgical equipment in hospital rooms. One of the administrators, acting chief of staff Dr. Barbara Temeck, allegedly informed operating staff that they were “too picky” for objecting to surgical equipment soiled with blood and bone fragments.
Temeck is also accused of illegally prescribing medication to the wife of the other administrator, regional director Jack Hetrick, and receiving pay for work she has not been regularly performing.
Whistleblowers said that they had expressed concerns for nearly a year, including reaching out to VA Secretary Robert McDonald and representatives in Congress, though little had been done to fix the issues.
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This is a sinking ship, but nowhere do we see the captain.
ReplyDeleteIT'S the government , what do you expect with liberal democrats in charge!
ReplyDeleteAs a veteran this is a nationwide problem and a SERIOUS problem for veterans returning home to be shunned and run around in circles
ReplyDeleteEven more interesting is this response to the article from a friend of mine who has worked at the Dayton VA hospital for a long time..
ReplyDelete"Not surprising. I heard Cincinnati was fudging numbers way back from people who would know, falsely coding visits for more than they actually were to make the numbers look good. The numbers are still all that matters. Surprising that the whistleblowers say they reported to McDonald and Congress with no response. But...McDonald was hired as a big business guy, not political, to clean things up, and you've heard precious little about changes. The problems are too big and the housecleaning that was needed never took place. It's all too political, people are too entrenched and protected."