WASHINGTON (AP) - The Veterans Affairs Department said Tuesday it is offering relief to more than two dozen employees who faced retaliation after filing whistleblower complaints about wrongdoing at VA hospitals and clinics nationwide.
The actions follow settlements reached last year with three employees who reported widespread problems at the Phoenix VA hospital, including chronic delays for veterans seeking care and falsified waiting lists covering up the delays. The resulting uproar forced the ouster of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and led to a new law overhauling the agency and making it easier to fire senior officials.
The latest actions offer relief to approximately 25 VA employees, including a doctor who was reprimanded and retired after reporting significant errors at a Maryland clinic, and a nurse manager in Washington state who was fired after refusing to alter a performance evaluation for a subordinate. The doctor will have a negative appraisal removed and the nurse manager will keep her job while an investigation continues.
Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner applauded the VA for taking steps to protect employees who file whistleblower complaints. Lerner's office, which is independent from any government agency, is investigating more than 120 complaints of retaliation at the VA following employee allegations about improper patient scheduling, understaffing and other problems at the VA's 970 hospitals and clinics nationwide.
VA Secretary Robert McDonald, who took over the agency last summer, has vowed to root out retaliation as the agency seeks to change a culture he and other officials acknowledge has allowed and even encouraged reprisals against those who file complaints.
"Secretary McDonald has taken whistleblowing within the VA seriously," Lerner said in a statement Tuesday. "He recognizes that an essential step toward improving veterans' care is to listen to employee concerns and protect them from retaliation."
Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said the department is committed to holding accountable those who retaliate against whistleblowers. Employees who blow the whistle on higher-ups because they have identified a legitimate problem "should not be punished" but instead should be protected, Gibson said, citing a similar comment last year by President Barack Obama.
"Personally, I would add that you should be praised," Gibson said.