One year later, VA still protecting and promoting cover-up artists

[DKW 86 7,419]

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/one-year-later-va-still-protecting-and-promoting-cover-up-artists/article/2562792

The scandal grew as it became clear that this and other highly unethical practices were commonplace at VA facilities all over America. Each new revelation — including the VA's attempts early on to kill the story by pretending to fire a few officials on the verge of retirement — has added to the case that the VA bureaucracy lacks both integrity and a sense of commitment to serve those who had served this nation.

The end result of all this was the sacking of Veterans' Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. But it should be abundantly clear by now that this decapitation was only the beginning of the solution.

Case in point: One current investigation pertains to a VA facility where veterans were doped up with opiates and given no treatment for their underlying conditions. It is good to see this rock turned over, but among those McDonald has appointed to the investigating board is Deborah Amdur, director of the White River Junction Veterans Affairs hospital in Vermont. Amdur was just recently caught in a lie answering questions about a terrible scandal at her own facility.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., in the course of helping a constituent, asked Amdur a very specific question earlier this year — whether her facility had prescribed a tainted drug to a New Hampshire veteran that caused him severe injury in 2009, and then attempted to conceal this error for five years.

Amdur denied both allegations. But as theWashington Examiner's Luke Rosiak reported this month, both were absolutely true. And in fact, Amdur had seen evidence that they were true before she gave her answer to Ayotte.

The veteran in question, Ted Stachulski, suffered a seizure as a result of the tainted medicine he received. He then had to fight the VA bureaucracy for five years to receive documentation on his own treatment, which by law he was entitled to within 20 days. At one point, VA employees cooked up a false medical document for Stachulski to prove that he had not been given a bad drug.

When the correct documentation was finally released, it showed that Stachulski had been issued a contaminated batch of the drug bupropion, even though the VA had been aware for at least one month earlier that there was a contamination problem with specific batches of bupropion.

Amdur told Sen. Ayotte that there had been no contaminated prescription and no cover-up. The records demonstrate that this was false, and that she had access to records showing it was false. Yet now Amdur has been appointed to investigate another problem at another VA facility.

If the Department of Veterans Affairs is serious about cleaning up its own affairs, it should not put liars in charge of investigating its own shortcomings.

[cooltigger21 0]

As much as I'd like to say I'm surprised, I'm not. This agency along with every other one needs a major overhaul and housecleaning. Lots of people need to lose their jobs over this.

[MDM4AU 332]

SSDD

[autigeremt 6,598]

Same government, same result. You get what you vote for.......

[TheBlueVue 177]

but, but, but...how many times have I read in THIS forum that the government is just better equipped to provide certain services. The govt cannot solve ANY problem and they prove it every time they throw insane amounts of money at them and the targeted problem persists or gets worse. The government is the problem. They should dissolve the VA and provide veterans vouchers that allows them go to any Dr they want to...THE END.

[DKW 86 7,419]

http://townhall.com/...-fixed-n1982871

A year after Americans recoiled at revelations that sick veterans were getting sicker while languishing on waiting lists, VA statistics show that the number of patients facing long waits has not declined, even after

Congress gave the department an extra $16.3 billion last summer to shorten waits for care.

Nearly 894,000 appointments completed at VA medical facilities from Aug. 1 to Feb. 28 failed to meet the health system's timeliness goal, which calls for patients to be seen within 30 days. More than a quarter of those appointments involved a delay of longer than 60 days.

THE reason this is allowed to go and on and on is because "The Party of Money in DC" is far more concerned with campaign donations from the FGEU and not concerned at all with health of our veterans.

In the video, there are veterans who have been on a waiting list since 2012 to see a primary care physician...

[icanthearyou 4,462]

From what I have seen of the new head of the VA, I don't think he is the right man for the job right now. I think he is a good man but, he seems to be more of a "pat on the back" type. Right now, they need a "kick in the butt" type leader. Like CT said, "they need a major overhaul and housecleaning", not just a little tweaking.

[cooltigger21 0]

but, but, but...how many times have I read in THIS forum that the government is just better equipped to provide certain services. The govt cannot solve ANY problem and they prove it every time they throw insane amounts of money at them and the targeted problem persists or gets worse. The government is the problem. They should dissolve the VA and provide veterans vouchers that allows them go to any Dr they want to...THE END.

Be a lot cheaper than what we've got now and the veterans would get better care.