Article Options

Early VA report confirms the worst

Sunday, August 17, 2008 12:03 AM CDT

The first portion of a three-part report by the U.S. Veterans Affairs Administration into its own hospital at Marion reaffirms what was already known or strongly suspected here in Southern Illinois:

The VA needs to get a well-qualified, permanent leadership team in place at Marion. Soon. Very soon.

But given the slow grind of the gears of federal government, a too-long wait likely lies ahead.

To recap, here are some of the findings from Part I of the report by the VA's Administrative Investigation Board:

l Hospital managers knew some doctors were not properly credentialed, including Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez, a surgeon suspected of being at least partly responsible for nine confirmed patient deaths.

l The former medical center director failed to properly focus on the quality of care by ignoring troubling patient incident reports; failed to establish a follow-up process for patient deaths; and allowed financial considerations to predominate over quality-of-care issues.

l The former nurse executive had a duty to report the poor relationship between the director and the chief of staff, but did not because she was afraid of retribution.

Illinois' two U.S. senators have pressed the slow-acting VA on its investigations into the tragedies of 2006-07 and the apparently horrible management-labor relationship at Marion.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, cut to the point on Wednesday: "It is past time that a new (permanent) leadership team is in place in Marion and the VA must act swiftly to make that happen."

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Chicago, his party's presumptive presidential nominee, was also clear: "This report confirms that a failure in leadership and a breakdown of safeguards allowed these tragedies to occur at the Marion VA."

Southern Illinois' congressmen, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello of Belleville and Republican U.S. Rep. John Shimkus of Collinsville, have also helped press the VA and seem willing to help it find its bearing and its timepiece. They, too, promise to keep the pressure on the VA.

Illinois does carry some heat on Capitol Hill. Let's hope our senators and congressmen keep every bit of that heat on Dr. James B. Peake, the secretary of Veterans Affairs.

And, by the way, Mr. Secretary, we're still waiting on your promised visit. Veterans have died needlessly before their time. VA employees worked in an environment of fear and mistrust. Your personal interest does not seem too much to request.