Rao bulletin 1 October 2014 html edition this bulletin contains the following articles
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- VAMC Minneapolis Update 01 ► Town Hall Meeting
- VAMC West Los Angeles Update 11 ► Land Use Under-Billing Revealed
- VAMC Memphis TN Update 01 ► Town Hall Meeting 18 SEP
- VAMC Nashville TN ► Town Hall Meeting 22 SEP
- Norman Nuismer listens in the audience during a town hall meeting with officials including Tennessee Valley Healthcare System Director Juan Morales.
- VAMC Syracuse NY ► Town Hall Meeting 22 SEP
- The Syracuse VA Medical Center holds a town hall meeting to discuss concerns about the medical care provided with veterans and members of the public.
- VAMC Muskogee OK ► A Pattern of Denial
VA Fraud, Waste, and Abuse ► 140916 thru 140930 New Haven CT -- According to court documents and statements made in court, Venita Godfrey-Scott of New Haven was employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) at the Medical Center in West Haven as a supervisor in the Facilities Management Service, which is responsible for carpentry, paint, locks, doors, and other minor construction projects at the Medical Center. From approximately 2010 until 2013, Godfrey-Scott directed VA employees that she supervised to perform home improvement projects at her private residence, including a deck in her backyard, carpet installation, and various kitchen, bathroom and basement improvements. She directed the employees to use materials, supplies, tools, and vehicles belonging to the VA, and also had the employees purchase necessary materials at local stores using her government-issued credit card. She sometimes directed the employees to work on her home improvement projects during their regular work hours while they were being paid by the VA. The total loss to the government as a result of he criminal conduct is estimated to be between $15,000 and $20,000. On May 14, 2014, she pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property. On 11 SEP U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford sentenced Godfrey-Scott to four years of probation, the first six months of which she must spend in home confinement with electronic monitoring, for stealing government property that she used for the various home improvement projects. She was also ordered to perform 120 hours of community service and to pay restitution in the amount of $15,000. [Source: USDOJ District of Columbia Press Release Sept. 11, 2014 ++] ******************************** VAMC Minneapolis Update 01 ► Town Hall Meeting Veterans went to the microphone 12 SEP to call for change in culture of the massive Veterans Affairs bureaucracy and to demand accountability from top local leaders who recently were accused of seeking retribution against employees who complained of secret scheduling lists and canceled appointments. Close to 100 vets attended the town hall meeting in Minneapolis, part of a nationwide effort by the VA to repair an image tarnished by revelations that vets were forced to wait long periods for appointments and that some workers were asked to keep separate books on how long it was taking for patients to be seen. Local VA officials extolled the accomplishments of the Minneapolis VA, which had enjoyed a stellar reputation among the nation’s VA hospitals. The local VA has made more than 600 specialty care appointments since April, addressing a concern about a backlog. It will spend $100 million this year on non-VA care for vets who need it. But they also acknowledged that mistakes could have been made and have to be addressed. 
The VA’s inspector general was in town to investigate claims by two former workers that the Minneapolis VA ordered them to falsify records in the hospital’s gastroenterology department. The former workers also claim they were fired in retribution. The Minneapolis VA system also has been flagged in a national audit for potential problems with how wait times were calculated, both at the Minneapolis hospital and at an outpatient clinic in Rochester. “I fully commit for us to investigate those allegations, to call on the appropriate oversight bodies to help us understand where we may have made mistakes if that’s the case, and to correct those mistakes,” said Janet Murphy, network director for the VA’s Midwest Health Care Network, which includes the Minneapolis hospital. “We probably have some work to do to regain the trust and confidence of veterans and our stakeholders.” Some of the questions asked were:
Vets had to brave a long wait to even get into the parking lot for the meeting at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling. They were then required to go through a security screening to get through the door. Not all the focus was on long waiting lines and accountability. Several questions focused on the expense of a recent remodeling of the hospital’s atrium. The first question in the meeting was about why the food is so expensive at the hospital cafeteria. [Source: Star Tribune | Mark Brunswick | Sept. 13, 2014++] ******************************** VAMC West Los Angeles Update 11 ► Land Use Under-Billing Revealed The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has mismanaged its West Los Angeles campus by under-billing for land use agreements and by improperly diverting funds, according to a Government Accountability Office report issued 18 SEP. The GAO found weaknesses in the billing and collection processes for so-called sharing agreements at three VA medical centers, including the sprawling, 387-acre campus between Westwood and Brentwood. The VA has leased portions of its land to theater operators, a hotel laundry service, a private school for use as tennis courts, UCLA for a baseball field and an entertainment company for set storage. Saying that they were deeply disturbed by the findings, three Democratic lawmakers from California urged Robert McDonald, the new chief of the VA, to act quickly to bring all land use agreements into compliance with federal laws and policies, and to recover revenue that the West L.A. Veterans Affairs Medical Center did not collect, or misused, and ensure that it be used for veterans' medical care. "It is clear to us that the West Los Angeles [VA] violated federal law and shortchanged veterans in Southern California," said Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Rep. Henry A. Waxman. The GAO, the auditing arm of Congress, identified instances in which potentially millions of dollars in land use revenue went uncollected by the West Los Angeles VA. In addition, it found that the campus inappropriately coded some billings so that proceeds of more than $500,000 were sent to its facilities account. According to the facility's chief fiscal officer, the GAO report said, these proceeds were mainly used to fund maintenance salaries. That's a violation of VA policy, which requires that such revenue be deposited into the medical care appropriations account that benefits veterans. The West Los Angeles VA initially told the GAO that sharing agreements produced about $700,000 in revenue in fiscal 2012, but the GAO concluded that the agreements should have generated $1.5 million. "They couldn't figure out the number of active agreements or revenues," said Steve Lord, the GAO's managing director of forensic audits and investigative service. "In some cases, they didn't bill the entities correctly." The report, which also looked at facilities in North Chicago and New York, is the latest blow to the veterans agency, which has been under intense congressional scrutiny because of reports that veterans had to wait months for medical appointments and that VA medical centers were covering up the delays. The West Los Angeles VA has long been in the cross-hairs of veterans advocates. In 2011, the ACLU Foundation of Southern California in Los Angeles and others filed suit on behalf of veterans, alleging misuses of the West Los Angeles campus and failure to provide adequate housing and treatment for homeless veterans. In 2012, a VA accountant pleaded guilty to theft of government funds after an investigation determined that $681,000 of VA funds had been embezzled. In August 2013, a federal judge ruled that the VA had abused its discretion by leasing land for purposes "totally divorced from the provision of healthcare." The VA appealed the ruling, as did UCLA and the private Brentwood School. The case is now in mediation. The GAO report made six recommendations for improving billing, data reliability and monitoring of land-use agreements. The VA said it generally agreed with the report's findings and concurred with the recommendations. A congressional hearing on the report was scheduled 19 SEP in Washington. [Source: Los Angeles Times | Martha Groves | Sept. 17, 2014 ++ ******************************** VAMC Memphis TN Update 01 ► Town Hall Meeting 18 SEP There were small numbers but big opinions from the veterans at a town hall meeting hosted by the Memphis VA Medical Center 18 SEP. The event was to let vets voice their concerns with the medical center and the care they receive. The town hall meeting wasn’t held at the medical center or even in Memphis. Hospital staff said they decided to hold it at the Pat Thompson Center in Millington so there would be more space. But some vets think the VA was just trying to keep them and their negative opinions away. There were plenty of harsh words for the Memphis VA at the meeting. “They don’t care,” one veteran, Luther King, said. The hospital held the meeting for concerned vets to voice their opinions to both regional and local directors. “I’m hopeful we will both walk out of here having learned a little bit from each other,” director of the regional office of Nashville Edna MacDonald said. Some were angry the VA held the meeting in Millington instead of downtown Memphis, since many rely on public transportation. However, King said he wasn’t going to let anything stop him from sharing his story. King claims the VA misdiagnosed him several times, leading to almost deadly consequences. “I’ve had two heart attacks, because I had a moving blood clot they misdiagnosed,” he said. King said not only was he misdiagnosed at the VA, he was also mis-medicated. “I was given outdated insulin that had expired in 2011,” he said. When he confronted his provider about it, he said he was told to be grateful his situation was not worse. “When I talked to one of the doctors at the VA, she said, ‘You’re lucky. There’s a guy there in the ward now. They gave him outdated insulin, and his kidneys failed,'” he said. Many at the meeting said they think the Memphis VA simply doesn’t care, and King thinks they would rather just get rid of him than help him. “It’s a form of genocide to eliminate all the Vietnam and WWII era veterans to have enough money and funding to take care of the veterans coming home now,” he said. For a video report on the Town Hall meeting refer to http://wreg.com/2014/09/18/angry-vets-speak-out-at-memphis-va-town-hall-meeting. [Source: Memphis Channel 3 News | Katie Rufener | Sept. 18, 2014 ******************************** VAMC Nashville TN ► Town Hall Meeting 22 SEP Veterans cried about how they were treated, worried whether they would live to see Christmas and reported identity mix-ups that had nurses mismatching drugs at the VA hospital in Nashville, which has some of the nation's longest wait times to see doctors. These were the stories Juan Morales, director of the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, heard 22 SEP during a town hall meeting. About 90 people filled a small room, holding up their hands and waiting for a chance to speak. Their list of complaints was long, ranging from reports of administrative staff ignoring them while talking on cellphones to grievances about doctors abruptly canceling appointments or misdiagnosing illnesses. The meeting was the third of four briefings Morales has scheduled with veterans in the wake of a congressional investigation about delays veterans faced nationwide trying to see doctors. While established patients in Middle Tennessee had an average wait time of three days, according to a government audit, veterans needing to see a specialist didn't get in the door for 71 days on average. Those were veterans primarily needing to see ophthalmologists, podiatrists and pain specialists. The wait time for a new patient to see a specialist now averages 61 days, Morales said. But an established patient from Goodlettsville is also concerned about wait times. Robert Morgan worries he has cancer that won't get diagnosed and treated soon enough. After he complained of stomach pain and bathroom problems, he said, it took a month to get a CT scan when nodules were found in his kidneys and liver. He said he thinks he may have colon cancer that has metastasized. "They said I needed another CT scan, which was scheduled for two weeks later," Morgan said. "Trust me, that's not expeditious. I'll die, and the reason I'll die is because I don't receive timely care. There are a lot of guys in this room who are sicker than me, and it will probably happen to them, too." Morales said he would have a staff member check on the situation. "I'd appreciate it if you'd do something, because I'd like to be here come Christmas," Morgan answered. "Right now, I don't think I'm gonna be." Misty Hollars told how she could not get her father, Miles Hollars, transferred from a hospital in Franklin, Ky., to the VA hospital in Nashville. The family had to go to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, she said, asking whether the VA system would cover that hospital bill. Roger Morris of Clarksville brought with him the names of the nurses he said put him into a "bloody bed," neglected to put an identifying wristband on him and then got the identities of patients mixed up and brought them the wrong medications. "Wrong medications can kill somebody," Morris said. "Do you understand me, sir?" He said he asked to be discharged so he could go to another hospital, and the nurse took his bloody IV tube out and laid it on a food tray. "Can you explain that, sir?" Morris asked. Morales apologized and promised to investigate, saying, "First of all, I'm sorry for the experience you had. If that's what happened, that's not acceptable." 
Norman Nuismer listens in the audience during a town hall meeting with officials including Tennessee Valley Healthcare System Director Juan Morales. Jim Haggar said he had received "stellar expert care" recently at the Nashville VA hospital and had never seen "a cleaner hospital room in my life." "I just want to make sure the people who do a fantastic job are getting a little bit of notice as well," he said. But Haggar did suggest that the VA outsource hospitality training for its front-line staff, with the goal of making them as customer-centric as people who work at the Cleveland Clinic. Morales said the Nashville hospital was adding staff after receiving federal approval to bring on an additional 323 personnel and build space for more examination rooms. He said the area's expanding population had made it difficult to meet the growing demand for care. He admitted that it might be difficult to fill some sub-specialty positions, such as pain physicians. "It takes time to recruit," he said. "We want to hire the right staff for our veterans." [Source: The Tennessean | Tom Wilemon | Sept. 22, 2014 ++] ******************************** VAMC Syracuse NY ► Town Hall Meeting 22 SEP Brad Edwards, 66, a military veteran from Rome, N.Y., said he got the run-around when he tried to make an appointment to see a neurosurgeon at the Syracuse VA Medical Center three years ago. "We will get back to you," Edwards said he was told by a staff person at the VA's Rome outpatient clinic. Edwards said he called the clinic every month, but no one returned his calls. So last year he found a neurosurgeon on his own outside the VA system and got the operation he needed. "I felt like one of those veterans they forgot about," Edwards told VA officials 18 SEP at a public town hall meeting at the Syracuse VA Medical Center. He was one of more than a dozen veterans who spoke, offering a mixture of criticism and praise of the Syracuse VA. About 70 people attended the event. All VA health care facilities nationwide are holding town hall meetings in an effort to improve communications with veterans. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald ordered facilities to hold the meetings in the wake of the recent controversy surrounding long waits for appointments at some VA facilities nationwide. James Cody, director of the Syracuse VA, opened the session by telling veterans the Syracuse VA consistently ranks among the best in the nation in terms of quality, patient satisfaction and access to care. But after hearing complaints from several veterans, Cody said, "Statistics show we are doing pretty well, but obviously we have a lot of room for improvement." Bob Stewart, another veteran, complained that the Syracuse VA refused to do an MRI scan of his knee because his income is too high. Stewart said he went outside the VA and got an MRI he paid for out of his own pocket. "I could afford to do that, but there are so many veterans that can't afford to do things like that and something needs to be done about it," he said. 
The Syracuse VA Medical Center holds a town hall meeting to discuss concerns about the medical care provided with veterans and members of the public. One veteran complained that he waited in the Syracuse VA from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. one day before he could get a prescription filled. Another said the Syracuse VA makes veterans wait too long to see eye doctors and other specialists. Robin Searles, a veteran from Auburn, had nothing but praise for the Syracuse VA. "For me this has been the best sort of medical care I've gotten," she said. Another veteran, who didn't give his name, said he's been going to the Syracuse VA for 44 years and has never had a problem. "I appreciate this hospital," he said. "It's one in a million." Larry Center Carter, a veteran from Auburn, said he is happy with the VA's medical care, but criticized the VA for denying veterans like him pensions. Claims for pension benefits are processed by the VA in Buffalo. Carter said many veterans trying to get pensions become frustrated by the bureaucratic delays they encounter. "A lot of veterans give up and go get stoned," he said. [Source: The Post Standard | James T. Mulder | Sept. 18, 2014 ++] ******************************** VAMC Muskogee OK ► A Pattern of Denial Veteran Tziporah Pendleton found out she was pregnant on Super Bowl Sunday. A mother of five children, all boys, she was elated to have another child. Now she visits Benjamin David's grave often. Benjamin is the son she lost after Veterans Affairs denied procedures recommended by her maternity specialist. Her doctor said if she did not get the procedures, she was at risk of bleeding out, and a week later she nearly did. She was in the ER for a six-hour surgery. "I lost my baby, and I'm barren and that I buried my son, all at the neglect of the VA," said Pendleton. But the denials did not stop there. Four days after burying her son, she sought therapy through her VA doctor. "He denied me mental health counseling. He said I had to wait until they had an opening and then had to evaluate me before he would approve a referral for me to go to mental health," said Pendleton. From procedures, mental health, to surgeries, the denials continued (see article at www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/investigations/veteran-loses-unborn-child-after-va-denies-procedures ). 
Korean war vet, Monty Collins prior to his heart attack, called the VA about chest pains but says no one returned his call. Then he suffered a heart attack. He was prepped for surgery at a local hospital, but then the VA decided to send them to their hospital in Houston. Four and a half days went by, the surgery never happened” The VA put Monty on a gurney in the back of ambulance and drove him back to Tulsa, an eight-and-a-half-hour ride that left him with sores and bruises. "Bumping and bouncing. It just tore me up," he said. He returned home, but Monty said the VA left him without oxygen, something he needed to survive. So he ended back up in the hospital where he'd started, with tubes again in his nose. It was unbelievable, inhumane. None of my family or anybody else could hardly believe it. You just don't treat people that way," said Collins. After suffering a heart attack, going four and a half days without food or water and never getting a decision on surgery, Monty just wanted to go home. "I can't help but think if I had gotten timely care when I first hit this place on the 27th of April, that things might have been a whole lot different," said Monty (see article at http://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/investigations/veteran-monty-collins-of-tulsa-falls-victim-to-veterans-affairs-problems-after-heart-attack). 
A recent report by the Government Accountability Office found that more than 25 percent of veterans emergency claims were wrongly denied. The 2NEWS Investigators wanted to know more about denials for other health care services, like the denials for the procedures Tziporah needed, a bladder scan and an MRI. They asked the Muskogee VA what criteria it uses to determine which procedures it will pay for and which ones it won't. A spokesperson for the VA said a physician at the VA makes the call, meaning someone who had never seen Tizporah decided she would not get the bladder scan or MRI. John Cloud worked for the VA for more than 25 years, helping veterans with claims and benefits. Cloud is retired but is still helping veterans with claims. He volunteers his services twice a week. He told 2NEWS what often goes into the VA physician's decision-making, when it comes to approving or denying a procedure from a non-VA doctor. "He has to look at the bottom line, cost and that's wrong, that's where it comes down to wrong," said Cloud. When informed about the denials is Pendleton's case, he was shocked as to why the procedures were not approved. "I don't know why other than money. Yah, they say they offer, this and this and this, but let's try something new. Let's try to help someone," said Cloud. The 2NEWS Investigators pored over the VA reform bill that just passed in July and found it doesn't address the denials. As for Pendleton, she eventually did receive counseling for the loss of Benjamin David. She was eventually approved for the MRI, after she buried her son. She was never approved for the bladder scan. As for Monty Collins he took his own life, six weeks after he went to the Houston VA. [Source: Tulsa Channel 2 News | Marla Carter | Sept. 22, 2014] ******************************** Directory: wp-content -> uploads -> 2014 2014 -> For want of a nail 2014 -> Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act of 2014 2014 -> Ihbb asian Championships 2014 middle school bowl Round 4 First Quarter 2014 -> Ihbb european Championships 2014 Bowl Round 4 First Quarter 2014 -> International History Bee and Bowl 2013-14 Asian Division Question Set Bowl Round Six 2014 -> United states patent and trademark office 2014 -> Coffs harbour eisteddfod vocal syllabus 2014 -> Listen News Programs Schedule pledge now 2014 -> Slow club announce third album complete surrender Download 479.35 Kb. Share with your friends:
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