Firings begin at Phoenix VA
So, true to their word, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs have begun firing folks at the VA in Phoenix according to a link sent to us by David to AZCentral. Unfortunately, they’re firing the wrong people;
An Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services employee said he was fired last week after attending a veterans advisory meeting organized by U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake where the VA health-care crisis was discussed.
Steve Weintraub, a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves, worked for 13 months as an outreach coordinator for the department, informing veterans groups and community organizations about the department’s programs. After returning from a series of meetings Wednesday, including the Flake meeting, Weintraub said, he was terminated by Deputy Director Robert Barnes.
[…]
“I am passionate about veterans. That’s why I took this job,” Weintraub said. ” … But the leadership is more concerned about what’s going on on the Ninth Floor (the governor’s office) more than what’s going on in the veterans’ community.”
Yep, that’s who we need to fire – the people who care about veterans…people who are veterans themselves. We don’t want to fire the people who were not servicing their clientele, just the people who were.
And, oh, do you know how Deputy Director Barnes knew that COL Weintraub was at the Senator’s meeting? Barnes was at the meeting, too. Because some animals are more equal than others.
Category: Veterans' Affairs Department
They don’t need to fire them….they need to FIREBOMB Them….
The man fired did not work for the Dept of Veterans Affairs, he was an “at will” employee of the State of Arizona.
That said, his firing does seem outwardly to be a bit vindictive.
Don’t know the full story on the Col. But last time I checked ‘outreach coordinators’ weren’t the big issue it was the schedulers and their bosses.
And did we think that they would fire the people that were behind this mess in the first place??? That would have meant that someone in management is truly concerned about fixing the problem… and it’s obvious that they are not.
I would have thought they would have started at the front desk with the ones saying, “take a number and we’ll get to you”, (in a disgusted, you interrupted me, tone of voice) as they go back to their big game of Solitaire or Freecell as the waiting room continues to fill. There job being to get the person registered for the visit so their charts can be pulled.
Those were state firings (and seemed politically motivated), not firings by those involved in the AZ VA scandal. And firings would be too good for those turds. They should be facing prosecution.
No jail = business as usual. If the DOJ is not involved it is because the President told them to stay home. In November, remember this day. Same with November 2016, 2018, and so on. No matter what you think about the wars we get into, veterans matter and any President who doesn’t insure that veterans are taken care of is a dishonorable … person … who should not hold the job.
The DOJ is not involved because they are DEFENDING certain VA personnel.
As I stated in an earlier thread. I don’t expect there to be any consequences for the people who caused this problem. Proceeding exactly as expected.
So… state employed VA reps are getting fired but not those who work directly for VA are being held accountable. Who’d have thought this would turn out this way? There was a glimmer of hope that the heads of schedulers, executives and managers at the VA would roll. Obviously, that’s not going to be the case. I’m sure Mr. Weintraub is just as perplexed over his firing as anyone else here is. I can’t imagine how he could have gotten rolled up in this debacle, especially if he was there to help veterans, not to deny them the services he likely spoke to them about.
The fix is only partly with getting rid of inefficient workers.
The problem needs to be addressed in two ways.
1. Coming up with an efficient ( sometmes out of the box) solution for problems, ( such as outsourcing and paying non-VA facilities to provide carewhen the VA is backed up.
2, Getting rid of officials who refused to come up with solutions.
What the hell does an outreach coordinator have to do with the VA denying care and cooking appointment books?
Good grief.
This is a systemic Federal government problem. Probably no one can fix it unless the hiring rules for government workers are changed. Anyone ever heard of a Federal Government worker getting fired? Didn’t think so.
I had a State Government employee cause the death of one of my patients. When I complained that he needed to be charged with practicing medicine without a license and causing a patient death. They let him immediately retire keeping his cushy 26 year State retirement and benefits.
Too many are focusing on the little people at the bottom. More focus needs to be heaped on the union’s control over the VA. The VA bends over backwards for the union and it is evident in the collective bargaining agreement that employee rights are more important than Veterans’ rights to quality healthcare. No one wants to talk about it for some reason, but Therein lies a huge part of the problem. I challenge you all to read the CBA with the AFGE and see for yourself. I’m a Vet myself as well as a VA employee (MH care). I’m protected by that CBA and it still makes me sick… That should tell you something.
Did anyone actually expect anything else? Same shit, different day.