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Will the Phoenix VA hospitals former director Sharon Helman be held accountable?


Cyberdave

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Just venting I guess, but I sent the candidates for Indiana US senator a link to this thread. At least they will know how we feel about this debacle. if they bother to have a staff member read the entire thread.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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Don't think it is all union caused. A lot of problems are Congress/Senate caused. IE: I have copays and if after my secondary insurance pays and I end up owing even a $.01 I have to pay it or get a penallty for being late. (this happened once and I got a $15. charge) and if I overpay by even $.01 they have to send me a check. Think of the cost of processing this stuff. Guess what the VA has no choice because it is a law put in place by Congress to show how tough they are in getting money back that is owed to the VA. I am sure this was used to get political points by someone at some point.

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I'd say that there are union issues involved as it is easy for a civil servant to join and get assistance from them, still they don't deserve most of the blame as they work within the system.

 

More of an issue are the Civil Service rules that have grown over the years to the point that it is nearly impossible to deal with a problem civil servant. If you go back and read the links I posted above you'll see a lot of the issues tie back to the civil service rules.

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Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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In general I agree with your assessment Stan. One thing for sure, if you have a problem you need to let someone that knows something know about it. I don't know about other VA locations but the patient advocates at the Albuquerque VA have been invaluable in helping me deal with at least one problem individual on more than one occasion. It frustrates me that I can get an almost instant fix when they get involved. The individual is known to be a problem and I don't know why something can't be done even if it entails just moving them where they can not cause harm. It could be the reasons we are are stating. It can be really difficult to get to the facts. IE that in the past I found out that a lot of people were not direct employees but there on contract from an outside company. I don't know if this is still true. Ironically almost all the ones I dealt with that were under contract were very good to deal with with one glaring exception that was able to be rectified at least my case, in short order. And I never saw them again.

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Stan thanks for all of your updates on this matter. My Dad used to say "sometime the manure gets so deep you have to clean out the hen house" we may have to get the shovel out. It is past the time to get started.

 

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I've thought of dropping this topic from time to time but then I worry that Escapees that aren't aware of the Phoenix VA problems will come down here expecting care like they got back home.

 

When you add in things like our new director being so bad the system hid her in the Philippines until she cooled off things are grim here.

 

We do have a lot of good people but they have lives and families and can't toss all that away by complaining. A long while back the whistle-blower process here changed to and still is "shoot the messenger," or at least ruin their life.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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I've thought of dropping this topic from time to time but then I worry that Escapees that aren't aware of the Phoenix VA problems will come down here expecting care like they got back home

 

We do have a lot of good people but they have lives and families and can't toss all that away by complaining. A long while back the whistle-blower process here changed to and still is "shoot the messenger," or at least ruin their life.

 

Please don't drop this valuable information Stanley! You have been keeping us informed and if only few get the message, then it will save them hopefully, a lot of a hassle! Thanks!

:) Living Life One Day At A Time!

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Please don't drop this valuable information Stanley! You have been keeping us informed and if only few get the message, then it will save them hopefully, a lot of a hassle! Thanks!

Thanks! Please continue to update.

 

Safe Travels!

SKP #89742 - Lifetime membership - Member of the SKP Class of 2007
Good Sam Club - Lifetime Member
DataStorm #5423
Passport America - Lifetime Member
Sons Of The American Revolution (SAR) - Lifetime Member
American Legion - USAF - Lifetime Member
Rotary Club Member - 30 years

Escapee CARE Supporter

National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer

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Weasel words of the day...

 

Words carefully crafted to sound good until you look at what was really said and get past the spin. I'm usually no fan of USA Today but they are doing good work on this and deserve the respect of the veteran's community on this issue.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2016/10/18/exclusive-va-shuffles-managers-declares-new-leadership/92349782/

Although Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald has asserted that more than "90%" of the VA's medical centers have "new leadership" or "leadership teams" since he took over the troubled agency in 2014, a USA TODAY investigation found the VA has hired just eight medical center directors from outside the agency during that time.

The rest of the "new leadership" McDonald cites is the result of moving existing managers between jobs and medical centers. Some managers were transferred to new jobs despite concerns about the care provided to veterans at the facilities they were previously managing.


 

USA TODAY scoured hundreds of documents, news accounts and web archives to build a database tracking VA personnel moves since the wait-time scandal broke in 2014, starting with a Phoenix VA facility where 40 veterans had died awaiting care. That case revealed widespread mismanagement of VA facilities and led to McDonald’s appointment with a mandate to fix veterans' care.

President Obama has echoed McDonald's pride in the VA's transformation, saying on a recent CNN forum that “we have, in fact, fired a whole bunch of people who are in charge of these facilities.” In fact, the VA only moved to fire seven medical center directors. One of them quit and another retired first.​

 

Down in the section where they go over some officials by name: (Nelson was hidden in the PI until she cooled off from the St.Louis scandal enough to bring her back to CONUS)

 

 

• RimaAnn Nelson, who was director of a VA benefits and outpatient clinic in the Philippines, took over for Amdur in Phoenix. She previously had been director of the St. Louis VA when 1,800 veterans were potentially exposed to HIV and hepatitis because of poor sterilization. A follow-up investigation during her tenure found some of the problems hadn’t been adequately addressed.

 

This is a long and detailed article, the snips just give the flavor.

 

The USA Today map:

 

101516-VA-transfers-ONLINE.jpg

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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Copy/pasted from the headline:

 

Seven VA hospitals, one enduring mystery: What's really happening?
TWO AND A HALF YEARS AFTER THE VA SCANDAL, THE REPORTER WHO BROKE THE STORY CRISSCROSSES THE COUNTRY ON A QUEST TO FIGURE OUT IF CARE FOR AMERICA'S VETERANS HAS GOTTEN BETTER.
Dennis Wagner , The Republic | azcentral.com

 

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2016/10/23/va-hospitals-veterans-health-care-quest-for-answers/90337096/

 

This is long, detailed with videos, charts and graphs so save it for when you have time to spend.

 

Too much to do it justice with a few quick quotes.

 

You might also want to share it with other vets and their families.

 

 

Also:

 

=========================

 

Veterans: We need your help
The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com would like veterans and their families to help identify ongoing issues and potential story ideas about their health-care experiences with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Please visit VAsurvey.azcentral.com to participate.
If you are a veteran or a veteran’s family member, please take a few minutes to fill out our questionnaire. Your responses are one way to help gauge improvements at the VA.

============================

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Big meeting here in Phoenix, same old promises...

 

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2016/11/16/veterans-vent-anger-over-health-care-phoenix-meeting-va-boss/93968884/

 

 

Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson warned Tuesday that the Choice Program authorizing private care for some veterans is set to expire in nine months, and long-term medical services will have to be cut off even sooner if Congress does not renew the legislation and funding.

Gibson's remarks came during a sometimes emotional town hall meeting with veterans at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix, the ignition point two years ago for a national crisis over health-care delivery to veterans. The VA's No. 2 administrator is now paying monthly visits to the Phoenix hospital, attempting to oversee reform efforts.

 

A short, angry video and more text at link.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We got a star for our Phoenix quality of service. Please don't think about the other four stars we missed out on.

Phoenix veterans hospital gets VA's worst ranking

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2016/12/07/phoenix-veterans-hospital-gets-worst-va-ranking/95051764/

Newly released health-care rankings confirm that the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Phoenix remains among the worst in the nation nearly three years after it became the epicenter of a national VA crisis.

Internal VA documents leaked to USA Today, and later supplemented with officially approved data, show the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center has a one-star score in a rating system where five stars is the top result.


The five-star ranking system is used by the VA to evaluate hospitals for quality, service and safety based on a multitude of metrics gathered in a report known as SAIL (Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning). Results also are used by the VA to rate the performance of directors at each hospital.

When The Republic sought complete star rankings earlier this year, Dr. Peter Almenoff, special assistant to VA Secretary Robert "Bob" McDonald, declined to provide the list and said such data is not for public consumption. "We don't put those out externally," Almenoff noted. "We try not to focus on the stars."

That list, since obtained from internal VA documents by USA Today, indicates the Phoenix VA Health Care System is rated lowest in the nation. Just last month, Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson acknowledged ongoing struggles in Phoenix and said improvement at the hospital on Indian School Road is a top national priority.


Tucson got two stars, still not good but better than Phoenix if you are in the area this winter and are looking for care.

They have the whole list of VA hospitals at the link.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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Another story shows that the Phoenix suicide care issues are improving in response to the whistle-blowers talking to the press.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2016/12/06/report-verifies-phoenix-va-suicide-care-issue/95020682/

In letters to the White House and Congress, the Office of Special Counsel said investigators have verified complaints filed in 2015 by Brandon Coleman and Jared Kinnaman, two counselors at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center. The employees alleged that the ER lacked mental health professionals and safeguards to prevent "elopement" — a term describing patients who walk out even though they present a danger to themselves or others.

 

Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner praised Coleman and Kinnaman in a news release, saying they "likely saved lives by speaking up for veterans in the Phoenix VA's care. We owe them a debt of gratitude," she added. "They prompted long overdue changes to better protect veterans. ... I urge the Phoenix VA to keep working with whistleblowers to improve veterans' care."

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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  • 4 weeks later...

This is likely to be my last post on this topic but I think it is an important one to end on. The survey below clearly shows that most of the VA workers are no happier with the VA than our veterans are. Their dissatisfaction with corrupt and incompetent management gives us a clear idea of what needs to change in the VA system. I have some hope that it may happen but fighting the civil service old-boys network and patronage system is one tough row to hoe.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2017/01/04/phoenix-va-hospital-employee-survey/95975966/

More than 90 percent of respondents in the Phoenix VA Health Care System said their work is important and they are constantly looking for ways to do better. But less than half of those same workers believe VA administrators conduct government business fairly, ethically and competently.

One of the most alarming survey results involved a question of accountability. When workers were asked if VA leaders take appropriate action to deal with "poor performers," negative responses were more than double the positive ones. Barely one-quarter said pay raises are based on job performance.

The results suggest that Phoenix VA employees and their colleagues across the country are dedicated to serving veterans, but doubtful that administrators have the ethics and management skills to lead them.

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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Thanks Stan for all your timely reports here on this issue. Are you going on TFL this year too? I turn 65 in May and will be doing the registrations in March to be sure it is timely. I don't use the VA at all anymore. I initially thought well of them and their care but several personal experiences with the VA in several different departments caused me to reconsider using them as an alternative any more.

RV/Derek
http://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.
Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire

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Thanks Stan for keeping us posted on the outcome. The VA facilities in Fayetteville, Arkansas that I use has been upgraded from a 3 star rating to a 5 star rating. I continue to use the VA even after I turning 65. I will be 67 in May. I like my Doctor and I think he does a good job taking care of me.

 

Dennis

USA Master Sergeant Ret.

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Thanks Stan on all the updates and info you have dealt with for yrs. Very much appreciated. I have had pretty good luck with the VA myself here in MI until recently. I was put in a position that I just don't care to be in and my health was put at risk because of it. Not going into details as that's another story, but I am now back with my long time civilian Dr and pleased to be there.

 

Dave

Dave & Linda

2011 Bighorn 3670

2000 Ford 7.3 PS diesel white and tan in color Now Fulltiming since May15, 2010

 

Semper Fi Marines!!

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  • 3 months later...

Well, the woeful tale of VA problems continues: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/04/12/veterans-danger-va-hospital-washington-dc-investigation-finds/100376124/

I'm still waiting for congress to "drain the swamp" at VA. About our only recourse right now is to pester our elected representatives about the VA leadership ineptitude until they finally do something constructive to solve leadership problems. As former military, we all know where leadership begins.

Stan, I thank you for your dedication and perseverance to keeping all of us updated on the VA problems.

 

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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