A story about VistA.

JFKI · Mar 19, 2017

VistA Computer History - A VA Conspiracy

JFKI · Mar 28, 2017

And today we have this happening.
https://news.vice.com/story/va-veterans-overpayment

By Sara Jerving on Mar 27 said:

Every month since June 2009, Tad Steckler has received a disability benefits check from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Steckler retired from the Army at age 40 as a master sergeant with a Soldier’s Medal for heroism, and he’d built a new life on the foundation of his checks. The money covered rent on a three-bedroom home in Nebraska that he shared with his wife and her two daughters and the lease on the family’s Nissan Leaf electric car. It was all part of the agreement he’d made with the government when he enlisted out of high school: In exchange for his service, he’d be taken care of.

Last June, Steckler’s wife, Robyn Loveland, opened what she thought was just another envelope from the VA. Except this one wasn’t a check — it was a bill for more than $10,000. A letter stated that Steckler had received thousands of dollars in disability compensation in error, and the VA was going to withhold future payment until the debt was paid. investigation has revealed that the VA sent nearly 187,000 of these overpayment notices last year. That represents just under 2 percent of those receiving benefits. Other cases we’ve identified show overpayment claims similar in size to Steckler’s, with the potential to send veterans into crippling debt. A former Army combat medic from Idaho who served two tours in Iraq was told he owed the VA $9,831.93. A former Army sniper from Colorado who was shot in the head in the line of duty in Iraq got an overpayment notice for $11,119.41. These veterans were told their benefits would be withheld until they repaid the unexpected bills.
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JFKI · Mar 30, 2017

Really ?

https://www.stripes.com/va-smoking-ban-gets-first-hearing-in-house-1.461122

JFKI · Apr 4, 2017

VA secretary: Porn-viewing employee highlights need for more firing authority

Dr. David Shulkin, at his Senate confirmation hearing on Feb. 1, 2017.

By NIKKI WENTLING | STARS AND STRIPES Published: April 3, 2017

WASHINGTON — Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is using a recent attempt to fire a porn-watching employee to demonstrate why Congress should give him more disciplinary power.

An employee at the Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston was caught watching pornography in the presence of a veteran patient, the VA wrote in a statement Friday. VA officials responded by prohibiting the employee from working with patients, but because of appeals processes, they can’t yet fire the worker.

Shulkin is using the situation as an example of the department’s lengthy process for firing, demoting or suspending employees — and why he thinks it should change.

“We’re taking a hard stance we want this employee removed, and we do not believe the current laws allow us to do that quickly enough,” Shulkin said Sunday on “Fox and Friends.”

The law states that the VA must give employees 30 days’ notice of their removal, during which employees can build a defense to appeal disciplinary action against them. The employee in Houston was put on notice and continues to be paid, the VA statement says.

The House passed legislation March 16 that cuts the advance written notice to 10 days. The bill, HR 1259, would also shorten the time employees have to appeal and require quicker determinations from those who hear the appeals.

In the statement, Shulkin pressed the Senate to quickly take up the issue. He said Sunday that President Donald Trump is “fully supportive” and “looking forward to being able to sign an accountability bill.”

It’s uncertain when senators will review the legislation, which has faced criticism from a federal union that says it does away with employees’ due process rights. A similar bill stalled last year after passing the House.

After the VA statement Friday, Sen. Johnny Isakson, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said he agreed that 30 days’ notice was too long and that there was need for a legislative fix. His office said Monday they weren’t sure when the committee would take up any accountability legislation but that it was a top priority.

Dan Caldwell, policy director for conservative-leaning Concerned Veterans of America, said Shulkin’s latest statement could help drive the bill forward. Since the legislation passed the House, CVA leaders have been meeting with senators and asking their members to call them.

The bill is backed by 13 veterans and military organizations, including CVA, that see it as a way to root out a perceived culture of corruption in the department.

“The VA secretary coming out and stating that he needs the ability to more quickly fire some of these employees is extremely helpful to the effort,” Caldwell said. “The White House is also on board. I think those factors combined really give this bill a lot of momentum, and we hope the Senate will pick it up in the next several weeks.”

The House vote to pass the bill was split along party lines after Republicans nixed several amendments.

Rep. Tim Walz, D- Minn., the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, has warned that the bill’s aggressiveness would lead to another stall in the Senate.

Walz said he supported giving Shulkin more firing authority but took issue with a part of the legislation that would remove employees’ option to initiate a grievance procedure through their unions. The American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents 220,000 VA employees, came out strongly against the bill — especially that provision.

Walz predicted that because of it, the Senate won’t make any moves on the bill by October.

Shulkin, though, said he was optimistic.

“The Senate, I believe, will move forward with something,” he said on Fox.

wentling.nikki@stripes.com
Twitter: @nikkiwentling
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JFKI · May 17, 2017

https://www.forbes.com/sites/realsp...ks-the-va-should-get-less-money/#426710214267

May 16, 2017 @ 04:26 PM
I Am A Vet Who Thinks The VA Should Get Less Money
Guest post written by
Alex Miller
Alex Miller is a veteran and a freelance writer who lives in New York City.

A flag waves in front of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center on May 29, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

"I don’t work for you!" The receptionist screamed, causing my ear to crackle. I am a veteran, and I was at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Manhattan. Who did she think she was working for, if not, me? For years, I’ve grown accustomed to poor customer service, sub-par medical assistance and a general disrespect at the VA. Money has been funneled into this same system with the same results. It follows that the biggest problem is money being thrown at the problem, and this twisted logic, masked as a solution, is threatening -- even ending -- veterans’ lives and endangering their well-being.

$78.9 billion has been proposed for the 2018 Veterans Affairs budge – a $4.4 billion increase -- along with new and progressive individualized care. This should be viewed with skepticism. The addition of outside health care providers sounds outstanding. But in order to make that change, dozens of other cuts in government spending may be made. Because if this is just another empty promise, I’d rather that money go into job training or early childhood education. If the VA is going to dangle dollar signs over our heads only for us to see it stuffed into renovating a doctor’s office, or into swapping out hospital rooms for boardrooms, then VA doesn’t deserve it.

"Remember," a nurse said during an annual checkup. "You can always call the Veterans Crisis Line if you need it."

I scoffed a bit too loudly. "I’m always in a crisis," I said. "That’s why I come here."

For five years after I left the military, I wasn’t collecting many of my benefits -- like cheaper, more affordable medicine or a disability pension -- despite having received a medical discharge, mostly because I didn’t know I was entitled to them. And I suffered from depression and PTSD that no doctor had addressed.

Greater outreach for homeless vets needs to become a reality. I said the same thing in 2012, when I was a homeless vet. Living on the streets and in shelters opens vets up to higher chances of getting hurt and wracked by disease. And homelessness can lead to thoughts of suicide or worse. Sadly, many have called into the Suicide Prevention Hotline only to have their calls put on hold or dropped.

There are also major needs for doctors, nurses and regional directors with military experience. Too many civilian medical professionals aren’t adept at dealing with those vets just coming home from war and should be replaced with good, empathetic professional veterans. I’ve found myself denied on many occasions for "open calls" only to find that I "wasn’t qualified" or that the job had already been filled, and those were for low to mid-level jobs such as maintenance and information tech (even though IT was my specialty in the military). I believed, as others did as well, that these assessments were true and just accepted them. However, more often than not, this isn’t the case because very few of the more than 300 top positions at the VA are irreplaceable and many good jobs at the VA aren’t medical or even require a degree. Besides that, saying veterans don’t have the know-how or the credentials is to spit in our faces, and an excuse to not have actual change happen behind VA’s doors. Most former service members were well-trained professionals with wide skill sets. Even more of a slap to the face is not having access to programs for training or retraining in order to employ vets in well-paid positions.
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JFKI · May 26, 2017

https://www.fedsmith.com/2017/05/25/report-va-facility-served-food-trays-cockroaches-patients/

Report: VA Facility Served Food Trays with Cockroaches to Patients
Ian Smith May 25, 2017 Agency News

A recent Veterans Affairs Inspector General report found that the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital in Hines, Illinois hasn’t been keeping its kitchen facility up to health standards.

According to the report (below), an inspection was conducted in May 2016 to investigate allegations that cockroaches were present in the kitchen and that some patients were delivered food trays with cockroaches on them.

Sanitation Problems Observed
The report said that it found “persistent presence of cockroaches in and around NFS [Nutrition and Food Service] areas” and that “we observed conditions favorable to pest infestation.”

Among the problems the inspectors found:

Dead cockroaches in glue traps around the main kitchen

Open cardboard boxes in the main kitchen with dry food products exposed

Food items in open cardboard boxes that were stored less than 6 inches from the floor

Water infiltration around the floor drains

Trash receptacles without lids

Serving Cockroaches to Patients
As to the allegations of food trays being delivered to patients with cockroaches on them, the report said, “We substantiated that at least several patients received food trays with cockroaches on them.”

The report continued:

MH nursing staff informed us that food on patients’ trays is generally covered and trays are clean when they arrive to the unit via the transportation cart. However, MH nursing staff and several patients witnessed cockroaches on transportation carts. We were informed that patients became very upset and distressed as a result of witnessing cockroaches on food trays and transportation carts. At times, the patients’ distress would disrupt the entire unit. MH nursing staff reported that on one occasion, pizza was ordered because patients were upset and refused to eat the food delivered via transportation carts.

The report also noted that food transportation carts had not been properly cleaned and that the “residual grime and debris” present on them “not only attracted cockroaches but provided a hiding place [for them.]”

The IG report noted that the VA facility blamed the cockroach problem on recently changing pest control companies, structural integrity problems with the old building, and the location of the kitchen (it is in the facility’s basement).

Sanitary Inspection Standards Legislation
Former Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) is one of the lawmakers who called for the inspection of the facility that led to the IG report. He had introduced legislation in a previous Congress that called for new sanitation inspection requirements at VA facilities in response to allegations of the presence of cockroaches.

The bill ultimately died in a previous session of Congress.

Recommendations
The IG made these recommendations:

Veterans Integrated Service Network Director ensure that the Facility Director complete an analysis of the basement and sub-basement structures to determine if adequate measures are in place to prevent water infiltration.

Facility Director ensure that Nutrition and Food Service kitchen staffing is sufficient to perform all required duties, including cleaning and sanitation.

Facility Director complete an analysis of the feasibility of relocating the main kitchen to an area that limits the environmental conditions for pests.

2017-05-23 VA IG Healthcare Inspection Hines, IL
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Michaela Joy · May 26, 2017

https://www.forbes.com/sites/realsp...ks-the-va-should-get-less-money/#5c600ed24267

I go to this VA hospital (23rd street and 1st Ave.), and I have to say that I've -NEVER- had a problem with anybody there, including the DHS guards who scan everybody coming in the door.
They're very nice and respectable. At least to me. So I place very little stock in what that article says.

Did he get nasty with the receptionist? Because I know a few receptionists over there, and all I've ever got from them was "Thank you ma'am for your service."

JFKI · May 26, 2017

Michaela Joy said: ↑

https://www.forbes.com/sites/realsp...ks-the-va-should-get-less-money/#5c600ed24267

I go to this VA hospital (23rd street and 1st Ave.), and I have to say that I've -NEVER- had a problem with anybody there, including the DHS guards who scan everybody coming in the door.
They're very nice and respectable. At least to me. So I place very little stock in what that article says.

Did he get nasty with the receptionist? Because I know a few receptionists over there, and all I've ever got from them was "Thank you ma'am for your service."
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Apparently your VA is not the norm MJ.

The article above is about the VA Hospital in Hines, Illinois.

The one I used to use the nurses, and the eyewear dept. are very good and courteous, but the doctors... Well frankly the suck.
Well this clown gave me a prescription for atenolol, and I had been diagnosed elsewhere with a "right bundle branch block" ( amongst other things ) and was warned NOT to take atenolol.
When I told my PCP that he threatened to keep me there against my will unless I picked up that prescription.
Needless to say other than a pair of glasses I have not been back.

I went to the Bath NY VA a while back ( After the above incident ) and was even more disappointed with their service.

Consider yourself lucky.

Edit to add : Did you click the link ?
https://www.scribd.com/document/349432458/2017-05-23-VA-IG-Healthcare-Inspection-Hines-IL#from_embed

Michaela Joy · May 26, 2017

@JFKI: That's the New York VA hospital. It even says it in the article.

JFKI · May 26, 2017

Michaela Joy said: ↑

@JFKI: That's the New York VA hospital. It even says it in the article.
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Oh the article I posted on the 17th.... I thought you were talking about today's post.

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