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VETERANS
Whistleblowers: Retaliation still rampant at VA ‘ Despite this significant progress, the number
BY H EATH DRUZIN Stars and Stripes
WASHINGTON — Public shaming, demotions, verbal abuse. On Monday, Department of Veterans Affairs employees addressed lawmakers again about a culture of retaliation in the beleaguered agency that has been detailed during a yearlong scandal. Employees said that despite the scrutiny and ongoing department overhaul, whistleblowers are still facing retaliation. At a subcommittee hearing of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs on Monday, VA employees painted a picture of a workplace culture where speaking out comes at great cost, even as VA Secretary Bob McDonald has made their protection a top priority. “The hostility they receive for their conscientious behavior shows that the retaliatory culture, where whistleblowers are castigated for bringing problems to light, is still very much alive and well in the Department of Veterans Affairs,” Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., said. “The truth of the matter is, the Congress needs whistleblowers within federal agencies to help identify problems on the ground in order to remain properly informed for the development of effective legislation.” Dr. Christian Head, who testified in July about wait time manipulation at the VA’s Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, said he has been demoted,
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In an interview with Stars and Stripes, McDonald acknowledged that his department still has a long way to go in its reforms, but he pointed to shorter wait times, a shrinking disability claims backlog, and an effective effort to lower veterans’ homelessness as signs of success. “Give us a try,” he said. “In my first national press conference last September I gave out my cellphone number and I get calls from hundreds of veterans every single day. Now, I’m getting roughly 35 percent of the calls … where the message I’m getting is, ‘You changed my life, you helped me get in.’ ” So far even the staunchest critics of the VA’s reforms are sticking by McDonald, though there’s a rising call for him to fire more of those responsible for the problems.
of new whistleblower cases from VA employees remains overwhelming.
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embarrassed in front of patients and nearly turned away from an operating room where his patient was under anesthesia, awaiting surgery. Head said in August he found that the locks had been changed on his office, and he was informed that he had been moved to a “tiny, dirty, poorly furnished closet-sized office” on a different floor. He said his supervisors have engaged in an effort to undermine him since July, including preventing him from meeting with McDonald when the secretary visited the Los Angeles VA system earlier this year, saying his identification badge was expired. When he complained of mistreatment, he told congressmen on Monday, a supervisor told him, “If you don’t like it, you’re a whistleblower, take it to Congress.” In submitted testimony, Head also detailed instances where he said employees experienced racial and religious discrimination. Almost one year ago, the same committee detailed allegations of falsification of data and patients dying while
“No one thought the department’s problems would magically disappear upon the appointment of a new secretary,” Miller said in an email response to Stars and Stripes. “But it’s been a year since the scandal broke, and the department is still facing challenges with transparency, protecting whistleblowers and conveying accurate information to the public. It’s simply naive to think these issues will subside in the absence of the thorough housecleaning the department desperately needs.” Mitchell, who was given compensation and a new job from the VA after administrators at the Phoenix VA retaliated against her for speaking out, has become a go-to person for VA employees who want to report wrongdoing. “They’re very scared of retaliation,” she said. “The culture has not changed.”
Carolyn Lerner Office of Special Counsel languishing on secret wait lists. That helped uncover a systemwide failure in the care of veterans. The scandal cost former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki his job, and McDonald has faced a steady stream of revelations about improprieties across the country since taking over in July. Richard Tremaine, associate director of the Central Alabama VA Health Care System, said his superiors took away his leadership role and humiliated him and another whistleblower in emails after he reported malfeasance by system director James Talton. The director was fired after an investigation showed patient wait time manipulation at Alabama VA hospitals. “I speak with you today, with a heavy heart, disgusted by continued coverups, a discrediting campaign through open-ended investigations, and the attempted destruction of my career, by the very VA I have always loved being part of,” Tremaine said. More than 25 VA whistleblowers have received legal settlements for retaliations and about 120 cases are pending.
Asked about that persistent fear, McDonald said he expects more employees to receive compensation for maltreatment, and he encouraged whistleblowers facing retaliation to call him directly. “We will not tolerate retribution,” he said. “We cannot improve unless we have people criticizing (us).” Much of the leadership implicated in wrongdoing throughout the VA system is still in place or on paid leave, which has been especially irksome to veterans advocates, lawmakers and whistleblowers. Only a handful of those at the center of the scandal have left, and many were able to retire, keeping generous pension packages. “Sometimes I think there’s a little more damage control than appetite to overhaul the system,” said Pete Hegseth, CEO of the conservative
Special counsel Carolyn Lerner of the Office of Special Counsel said that she expects 40 percent of the agency’s cases to come from the VA this year, far more than from any other agency. “Despite this significant progress, the number of new whistleblower cases from VA employees remains overwhelming,” she said. Meghan Flanz, director of the VA Office of Accountability Review, said protecting whistleblowers is a “key component” of VA’s mission but that “the department has had and continues to have problems ensuring that whistleblower disclosures receive prompt and effective attention, and that whistleblowers themselves are protected from retaliation.” “It is an act of courage and it is something we in the department need to learn to celebrate,” she said. But lawmakers weren’t satisfied with Flanz’s contrition, slamming the VA for not doing more to fire those who were responsible for the scandal. Only a handful of senior leaders have been fired, and several others have been able to resign — sometimes with substantial pensions intact. “It seems to me if you want to send a message that wrongdoers are going to be held accountable, you actually have to hold one accountable,” Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., said. druzin.heath@stripes.com Twitter: @Druzin_Stripes
veterans group Concerned Veterans for America and one of the staunchest critics of the VA’s handling of the crisis. While senior leaders played a large role in fueling the toxic atmosphere of the VA, some advocates worry the misdeeds of relatively few leaders is taking focus away from a dire need to reform the culture of the mid-level bureaucrats and administrators who have more direct interaction with patient care. “The secretary has made an attempt to do that at the higher levels, but we find the problem really lies in what we call the frozen middle,” Veterans of Foreign Wars senior legislative associate Carlos Fuentes said. “Some of them even feel they can wait out the secretary or the (public) focus on the access crisis.” One year later, veterans are still waiting long times for
care, but the ongoing scrutiny has forced even reluctant administrators to improve their practices. Keeping up that pressure is key to continued improvement, American Legion Executive Director Verna Jones said. “The curtain’s been lifted,” she said. Just this week, a new government advisory committee of businessmen, academics, health care experts and retired military leaders met for the first time to craft suggestions on how to revamp the scandal-plagued agency. In a public meeting with committee members, McDonald said he hopes fresh perspectives will help the department better care for veterans. “As a typical government bureaucracy, sometimes we lose sight of our customer,” he said. druzin.heath@stripes.com Twitter: @Druzin_Stripes