Whistle-blower accuses VA inspector general of a "whitewash"

• Main Author: Robbins RA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arizona Thoracic Society 2014-09-01
• Series: Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care
• Subjects: Sam Foote; Samuel Foote; Richard Griffin; VA Office of Inspector General; Phoenix VA; House Committee on Veterans Affairs; Robert McDonald; John Daigh; whistle-blower; wait times
• Online Access: http://www.swjpcc.com/news/2014/9/18/whistle-blower-accuses-va-inspector-general-of-a-whitewash.html

No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. Yesterday, Dr. Sam Foote, the initial whistle-blower at the Phoenix VA, criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general's (VAOIG) report on delays in healthcare at the Phoenix VA at a hearing before the House Committee of Veterans Affairs (1,2). Foote accused the VAOIG of minimizing bad patient outcomes and deliberately confusing readers, downplaying the impact of delayed health care at Phoenix VA facilities. "At its best, this report is a whitewash. At its worst, it is a feeble attempt at a cover-up," said Foote. Foote earlier this year revealed that as many as 40 Phoenix patients died while awaiting care and that the Phoenix VA maintained secret waiting lists while under-reporting patient wait times for appointments. His disclosures triggered the national VA scandal. Richard Griffin, the acting VAOIG, said that nearly 300 patients died while on backlogged wait lists in the Phoenix VA Health Care System, a much higher ...