A Follow Up on that VA “Waiting List” Scandal
Remember Sharon Helman, former VA employee? She was the director of the VA Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ, when the “secret waiting list” scandal broke.
After a VA internal investigation, she was fired. Recently her termination was upheld on appeal. But it probably wasn’t upheld for the reasons you might think.
Helman was alleged to have engaged in three forms of misconduct: (1) being responsible for delayed veterans healthcare and falsified data regarding medical appointments; (2) retaliation against whistle-blowers; and (3) receiving improper (and unreported) gifts from a former boss-turned-lobbyist.
As it turns out, only one of those allegations were deemed an acceptable reason for her termination.
The first allegation – delayed patient care and falsified data – was not accepted by the Administrative Law Judge hearing her case. The judge ruled that the VA had not provided sufficient proof of Helman’s culpability regarding that allegation. And while the judge did find that proof of the second allegation (whistle-blower retaliation) to be sufficient, he also ruled that Helman’s misconduct was not serious enough to warrant being fired.
However, the third allegation thankfully turned out differently. The judge ruled that at least nine of the twelve (!) allegations against Helman regarding improper acceptance of unreported gifts were fully substantiated. On these grounds, he allowed her termination from the civil service to stand.
The Arizona Republic/AZ Central site has an article with more details. When I read the article, I found those details fairly disgusting – so if you just ate, maybe you want to wait a while before you read the article.
Helman was a senior executive at the VA. I’m guessing she was neither the finest nor the worst at her level within the agency.
With people like this in senior positions, is there any wonder why the VA has serious problems?
Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Veteran Health Care, Veterans' Affairs Department, WTF?
Pretty damn sad. On the other hand, I have found the rank and file, from front desk workers through doctors, very friendly and patient focused.
That’s pretty much the agreement from many veterans who use the VA. The health care professionals at the VA are superb, its the administrators that are the problem.
That has been my experience all along.
Agreed. I’ve had dealings with two sorry physicians and both of them were quickly removed from the local VA system, not sure where they went. As usual the rank and file of the organization have been nothing but helpful, it’s the leadership that creates the majority of the problems.
One down, how many hundreds more to go?
While its good to see her gone, one way or another, (without pension) it is also troubling to see that there wasn’t enough “proof” for a judge to determine she purposely put lives in danger. (Wasn’t she the one caught on audio tape telling people to make a secret second list?)
While I don’t know all the facts of the case, it is disconcerting because how much evidence will it actually take for someone to be shown to be causing damage or death to patients?
Even if they “delay” treatment for ONE veteran that causes death or serious physical damage, that should be a crime, especially if it is with purposeful intent.
Good, Great, Freakin Awesome. Now when does she get prosecuted? When does she have to pay fines? When does she get thrown in chains and an orange jumpsuit and paraded into a court house? When does the lobbyist and his company get fined, lose gov’t contract eligibility and massive fines?
Oh wait, none of this is going to happen? Shocker…