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

[skp51443]

It sounds like good news, 300 disciplined in wait time scandal...

 

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/investigations/2015/11/06/va-secretary-says-300-wait-time-scandal-disciplined-records-disagree/75316436/

 

 

Nope, not good news fake numbers, again. Looks like maybe 24 VA wide were "proposed for discipline" but no word on what was done for most of them. The last quote here has the real Phoenix numbers, 1 fired and two on paid vacation for 16 months so far.

 

 

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald declared Friday that his agency has proposed disciplinary actions against 300 employees in connection with a controversy over delayed care and falsified wait-time data, but VA records obtained by The Arizona Republic appear to contradict his assertion.

During a speech at the National Press Club leading up to Veterans Day, McDonald touted his agency's accomplishments since the scandal over patient care erupted in mid-2014, and he sought to refute criticism that the VA lacks accountability for wrongdoers.

"We've proposed disciplinary action against 300 individuals for manipulating scheduling," McDonald said.

However, a VA spreadsheet provided to committees on veterans affairs in the U.S. Senate and House list only two dozen instances where adverse personnel actions involved wait-time manipulation.

That table, marked "Not for Release Outside of the House and Senate Committees," contains a list of nearly 300 (295) unnamed employees nationwide who have faced disciplinary action through Oct. 15 "on the basis of patient scheduling, record manipulation, appointment delays and/or patient deaths." However, a footnote at the bottom of the report says only the cases marked with a double asterisk involved manipulation of patient wait times.

There were just 24 cases marked with double asterisks.

 

 

This marks the second time in 2015 that McDonald has touted VA accountability using numbers that raised questions.

In a February appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," he said, "Nine hundred people have been fired since I became secretary. We've got 60 people that we fired who have manipulated wait times."

A Washington Post fact-check article gave McDonald "Four Pinocchios" and found that he was "incorrect" in his statement about 60 fired employees. Only eight had been terminated, according to the newspaper, which also found that most of the 900 dismissals had no connection to delayed care or falsified appointment records.

 

 

At the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix, where the controversy first broke last year, former Director Sharon Helman is the only executive who was fired. Grounds for her termination included wait-time manipulation and delayed care, as well as acceptance of gifts from a lobbyist. A Merit Systems Protection Board judge rejected the charges related to patient access and record-keeping, but upheld Helman's dismissal for receiving inappropriate gifts.

 

Two other administrators at the Phoenix VA hospital were suspended and given notices of removal last year. They remain on paid leave 16 months later.

[Retiredin1993]

I just read where the courts said she could keep that big performance bonus she received just before getting canned.

[skp51443]

There has been a lot of activity in the local (Phoenix) paper that I've not posted due to it being too political.

 

Seeing who at the VA got performance bonuses this year will make you cry but I couldn't find a story that met the forum standards for politics to link to.

[RV_]

Rather than the crazy bonuses paid for shoddy results, there is no longer much money for bonuses to executives in the new budget just approved or in the process.

[bigjim]

I haven't chimed in a lot on this but it all ties in at some of the different VA's. I go to the Albq. VA a lot and Memphis in winter. One thing that has improved at least for me at the Albq. Va is adding 2 more patient advocates that seem to be very responsive and knowledgeable. Of course it is really frustraing that I have had as much need to use them as I have. That shouldn't be necessary. Sometimes the stupid stuff is unbelieveable. Like getting instructed in the emergency room to make an appointment sooner than later to see your primary for follow up and then you can't get in to see the primary. This has happened to me twice. Once just to have stiches removed. Last year I was in for a pacemaker battery and lead replacement and was recovering quicker than expected so could go home earlier than expected. The nurse called my friend to come get me. When he got there someone else told him they had no one by my name in the hospital. This kind of crap is happening all over the system. I have seen some improvements in some areas. One thing that seems to be helpful if it is available to you is the myhealth-e-vet computer communication but that is not always readily usable.

[DJW]

bigjim

 

I use the myhealth-e-vet secure messaging all the time. I love it. I can communicate with my VA Doc in HI as well as my VA Doc down in Fayetteville. Never play phone tag. When I need an appointment I just send the Team RN a message and request an appointment in the time frame I would like and usually within in that day I will have an appointment to see my primary DOC.

 

Dennis

[RV_]

Dennis,

Now that sounds like a vast improvement over last time I used the VA years ago.

[bigjim]

It CAN be great but it depends on who you are dealing with on the other end. In my case I have had ongoing issues with my primary's nurse and the primary in a slightly lesser degree. It was amazing to see that even the slightest word from the patients advocate could get their attention and solve the issue. I am a very fair person so I give them a decent chance to respond as I believe everyone can have time off, be swamped with work, or even go to the bathroom. I pushed the issue when it got bad so the management would come to know that there was/is a problem. After all you can't fix what you don't know about. I figured I owed it to other vets to try and get some attention especially since I knew 2 personnally. It is better but I have had enough and will be requesting a new primary if I return next year to Albq. I already have it set up with the patient advocate. I have had other primaries in the past with nowhere near the problems as with the current ones but since I see them seldom, I needed time to know there was a problem and it was ongoing and not just a fluke.

 

Back to the computer link. It is an issue if you don't have regular access to the internet. If the other end gets to used to using it they won't get why not everyone has it and some won't get calls or mail that may be needed in lieu of the computer. I will say that it worked fairly well when I was able to use it. It worked well for future appointments where time was not a close factor.

[DJW]

I find taking the team some flowers, candy and calling them by their first name goes along way towards great service.

 

Dennis

[champ_49]

I use My Health Vet computer communication with great success. I send an email on my questions and within 24 hrs I always get a response or whatever I asked for is handled. I have used this at two different VA's. One was in Alpena MI, the other is Grayling MI. And of course the primary hospital of Saginaw MI which is where my meds come from.

 

I can say I am very pleased with My Health Vet.

 

Dave

[skp51443]

Back to the Phoenix VA issues.

 

Today we have another Phoenix VA problem story:

 

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/investigations/2015/11/22/ex-va-doctor-concerned-veterans-surgeries-phoenix/73045652/

 

 

A physician formerly at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Phoenix says he was harassed and fired from his job two years ago after he complained that the hospital was improperly supervising the training of surgical residents.

Dr. Maher Huttam said he raised concerns that numerous veterans had suffered medical complications from operations performed by student physicians who were insufficiently trained or monitored. In retaliation, Huttam said, he was falsely accused of endangering patients, subjected to religious discrimination and finally dismissed after a “sham” investigation. He also said his medical records were repeatedly compromised by VA staffers.

 

I can't quote the whole article but the rest of it is worth reading at the link above.

[skp51443]

And today another "new" director, looks like an improvement as this one has only been caught lying to congress once that we know of.

 

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2015/11/22/new-director-appointed-phoenix-va-hospital/76115822/

 

 

The Department of Veterans Affairs has named a new boss for its troubled Phoenix medical center, appointing social worker Deborah Amdur to a position that has been through a series of fill-in leaders for the past year.

"My No. 1 priority is to regain the trust of the veterans we serve," Amdur said in a telephone interview. "And the way to do that is to deliver high-quality care that is timely."

Amdur previously served as director of the VA hospital in White River Junction, Vt., where she did not escape being caught up in the nationwide scandal over health care for veterans. In April, a newspaper report said she misled a congressman about conditions at her Vermont hospital.

 

 

Dan Caldwell, legislative and political director at the conservative Concerned Veterans for America, criticized Amdur's selection.

"This is a pattern in the Department of Veterans Affairs. When a director gets in trouble at one facility, they just move her to another," Caldwell said. "We saw the same thing with Sharon Helman before she came to Phoenix. ... This hospital had serious issues, and still does. You'd think they would want a quality director there."

 

So now you see why I put the quotes around "new" up at the top of this post.

[skp51443]

Correction to the last post, the "new" director decided not to wade into the Phoenix swamp and is headed elsewhere.

 

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2015/12/07/newly-appointed-va-regional-director-opts-out/76954606/

 

 

A Department of Veterans Affairs administrator who was assigned to lead the beleaguered Southwest regional health-care system has opted not to take the job at the last minute.

A spokeswoman for the VA Southwest Health Care Network, known as VISN 18, said Skye McDougall elected to take a similar assignment in Mississippi just as she was scheduled to take the helm at the regional office based in Gilbert.

Last month's selection of McDougall to oversee Veterans Integrated Service Network 18 drew flak from VA critics because of perceived baggage she would carry into a region that includes Phoenix VA Medical Center, the launch point for a national controversy over the department's management and medical care for veterans.

McDougall, as director of the Desert Pacific Health Care Network covering Southern California, testified in March before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs that Los Angeles veterans were waiting just four days for doctor appointments. A subsequent CNN report based on VA data and whistleblower complaints described that statement as "simply not true," and said metro-LA veterans were waiting an average of 48 days.

[skp51443]

They are having hearings to discuss the VA problems in Gilbert, AZ and DC too.

 

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/investigations/2015/12/08/us-senate-committee-va-hearing-arizona/77009838/

 

 

The U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs has scheduled an oversight hearing next week in Arizona to take testimony on the continuing crisis of medical care and accountability at a federal agency that each year serves about 9 million former military personnel.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, will preside at the hearing, according to Mike Anderson, a spokesman in Sullivan's office. Anderson said Arizona was picked because it was the ignition point for a national scandal over VA delayed patient care and mismanagement.

The hearing at 9 a.m. Dec. 14 in Gilbert Town Hall is expected to include Republican Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, who are not committee members.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs has scheduled an oversight hearing next week in Arizona to take testimony on the continuing crisis of medical care and accountability at a federal agency that each year serves about 9 million former military personnel.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, will preside at the hearing, according to Mike Anderson, a spokesman in Sullivan's office. Anderson said Arizona was picked because it was the ignition point for a national scandal over VA delayed patient care and mismanagement.

The hearing at 9 a.m. Dec. 14 in Gilbert Town Hall is expected to include Republican Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, who are not committee members.

 

On Dec. 9, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs is scheduled to conduct a separate session in Washington, D.C., to examine the department's "continued and pervasive lack of accountability for corrupt and incompetent employees," according to a committee news release.

That session is expected to focus on the VA's failure to fire or discipline administrators in Phoenix and other locations who are suspected of manipulating data, retaliating against whistleblowers and engaging in other wrongdoing.

 

[skp51443]

$380,000 for 18 months of paid vacation for two Phoenix VA bosses, sounds like good work if you can stomach it.

 

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/investigations/2015/12/09/house-committee-blasts-va-leadership-inaction-phoenix/77046780/

 

Members of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs ripped federal officials for a lack of accountability during a hearing Wednesday, pointing to Phoenix's VA hospital as Exhibit A in a systemic failure to fire rogue employees.

Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., at one point demanded to know why no disciplinary decision has been reached for two Phoenix administrators — Assistant Director Lance Robinson and Health Administration Services Director Brad Curry — who were suspended in May 2014 amid investigations of alleged wrongdoing. While on leave, they have collected more than $380,000 in combined salaries, not including benefits.

"Can you explain how somebody can be placed on administrative leave for a year and a half and they're still getting paid," Huelskamp asked VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson.

 

The rest of the article is worth reading before the Senate hearings on Monday if you are following the VA scandal.

[skp51443]

Today we have this, a bit of politics to start it offr but then it gets to the meat of the subject.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/investigations/2015/12/14/senate-panel-hearing-phoenix-va/77124530/

 

 

Much of Monday’s hearing focused on issues of accountability, with senators complaining that VA Secretary Robert McDonald has not used the authority he was given to fire administrators found to be incompetent and unethical.

In Phoenix, McCain noted, Associate Director Lance Robinson and Administrative Services Chief Brad Curry have been on paid leave since they were recommended for removal 20 months ago based on allegations of misconduct.

Shulkin responded that those personnel actions have been in abeyance because the U.S. Attorney’s Office would not allow the VA to interview the two administrators during a criminal probe. But the department will no longer delay its decision, he added.

Dr. Darren Deering, chief of staff at the Phoenix VA Medical Center, was scheduled to testify Monday, but his appearance was canceled after members of the Senate committee learned an internal VA probe found Deering culpable for whistleblower reprisal. The Office of Administrative Review report said Deering retaliated against Dr. Katherine Mitchell, who also was on the witness list.

Mitchell testified Monday that “not much has changed” at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center since she and others exposed falsified wait times and corrupt management practices in early 2014. She said triage nursing practices in the Emergency Department remain dangerous and are so “grossly inadequate” that she would not seek treatment there.

“Since the VA scandal erupted, there’s been no significant change in the dysfunctional culture,” Mitchell added.

According to an investigation conducted in November 2014, Deering retaliated against Mitchell by approving her removal as Emergency Department supervisor, and by failing to prevent insubordination among nurses.

A second investigative report shows Robinson, the associate director, was found to have retaliated against another VA whistleblower in a separate case.

Shulkin acknowledged problems with accountability and wait times, but said, “I can assure you, extraordinary efforts are what we’re going to do to get this fixed.”

So things keep rolling along with promises of change and no action.

[skp51443]

And now they are likely planning to blame it all on the dog eating their paperwork or the cat chewing their power cord. Beyond belief!

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/investigations/2015/12/16/va-inspectors-reject-blame-delayed-disciplining-phoenix-executives/77448866/

For months, officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs have claimed they were stymied in trying to hold top Phoenix VA officials accountable because of an ongoing criminal investigation.

But an email this week from the department's Inspector General's Office says that excuse is bunk: The OIG and FBI criminal investigation of Phoenix officials was completed, referred to federal prosecutors and rejected over the summer. There is no pending case.

The controversy centers on Lance Robinson, deputy director of the Phoenix VA Health Care System, and Brad Curry, chief of Administrative Services. Those senior executives were placed on administrative leave in May 2014 after inspectors verified delayed patient care, falsified wait-time data and whistleblower retaliation at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center on Indian School Road. Hospital Director Sharon Helman, who also was suspended at the time, has since been fired.

The fact that Robinson and Curry remain on leave – collecting more than $400,000 in pay and benefits for more than 19 months – drew anger and criticism in the past week from key lawmakers, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

During a Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs field hearing in Gilbert this week , Undersecretary David Shulkin repeated the claim that disciplinary efforts have been thwarted by "our inability to interview witnesses who have not been cleared by the U.S. Attorney's Office."

 

Much more (slightly rancid smelling) meat in the linked article, well worth reading the rest there. Just don't punch your computer for being the bearer of bad news.

[Ray,IN]

Incredulous is the only word I can associate with this ongoing debacle.

[remoandiris]

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/phoenix-va-s-original-whistleblower-1325508524146742.html

[Ray,IN]

Stan, that was sad reading.

[skp51443]

Every day the scum can avoid being forced out adds to their monthly retirement check so delay is not a bad plan on their part at all.

[Ray,IN]

I apologize Stan. I edited my post #195 because I thought it read as too political after an hours reflection.

[skp51443]

Ray, Politics does play a role here but isn't central to the issue, the bureaucrats that have built a system that would make a crime syndicate smile are to blame for the most part. The politicians (of all parties) do not want to tangle with that morass and until the public pressures them to do more that a couple hair-rending sound bites for the evening news shows things will continue as they are.

 

I originally had some hope that the story would stay on the front pages long enough to get some kind of resolution of the problem but it seems like it is a rare breed of reporter that can or will follow a story for more than a week. With no real news coverage the public is more than happy to go back to ignoring the issue and pretending all is well. With the public turning a blind eye the politicos are more than happy to not anger the bureaucracy.

 

Folks may think that my attitude is a bit harsh but just what penalty do you think is fair for letting quite a few vets die so your efficiency numbers looked good enough to earn a bonus?

 

What if that vet was your father, son or husband that was left with no medical care to suffer and die? Still happy with a wrist slap and paid vacation until the scum can retire?

[champ_49]

Thanks Stan for keeping this thread alive. Many are keeping up with it because of you! Thank you for sure here on my end!

 

Dave

[Pieere]

Thanks Stan and Merry Christmas! Appreciate the info very much!