Monterey, CA VA Doctors, Nurses And Other Whistleblowers Out Of A Job After Complaining

More bad news is leaking out in relation to the mess at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers across the country.  A new investigation has shown that staff members at dozens of VA hospitals all over the nation have been complaining for years about falsified patient appointment schedules and other improper practices, only to be told to shut up or they would be disciplined or even fired.  The New York Times interviewed four doctors, a nurse and an office manager who all said that they faced retaliation for reporting systematic problems.  The federal Office of Special Counsel is examining 37 claims of retaliation by the V.A. in 19 different states.  There are hundreds of disturbing stories like that of Dr. Jacqueline Brecht, a former urologist at the Alaska V.A. Healthcare System in Anchorage.  She told the Times that she had a heated meeting with administrators at a staff meeting in 2008 where she told management that using phantom appointments to make wait times appear shorter amounted to fraud. Days later, a top administrator came to her clinic, put her on administrative leave, and had security officers walk her out of the office.  "It's scary to think that people can try to stand up and do the right thing, and this is the reaction," Dr. Brecht told the Times.  I think we should all be disturbed by this type of management in our own government and I hope they move quickly to fix this.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors