The Veterans Hospital in Phoenix has dismissed three of their executives who were involved in a national wait-list scandal that caused unnecessary deaths of war veterans.
Although the scandal was revealed two years ago, it was just last Tuesday that Phoenix saw the discharge of Dr. Darren Deering, the hospital's chief of staff; Lance Robinson, the hospital's associate director; and Brad Curry, chief of health administration services. The three executives of Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center were all formally proposed for removal from the hospital but they will still be able to challenge their dismissals because of certain VA rules. The Seattle Times reported that Robinson and Curry were placed on leave since 2014 until recently while the scandal had emerged.
Prior to the recent firing of the three executives, the VA had already dismissed its former director, Sharon Helman, who oversaw the VA that time, the Press of Atlantic City disclosed.
Whistleblowers were able to attest in front of the Congress that tens of thousand of veterans had suffered and waited as the seniors tried to schedule appointments with the hospital's medical team. Further investigations had proven that the veterans indeed faced chronic delays for treatment. What's worse, secret waiting lists and falsified records were produced by the VA authorities to hide the hold ups.
As many as 40 veterans had died while waiting for care, as reported in the ABC News.
Last month, Helman pleaded guilty to making false financial disclosures to the federal government about yearly gifts.
The U.S. Congress continues to pressure lawmakers and agency leaders to improve the given amendments and overhaul signed by President Barack Obama.
President Barack Obama has alleviated some of the problems, but the VA acknowledges that many problems remain.
Helman Gibson, the Deputy VA Secretary, expressed his disappointment in the slow movement of justice for these veterans. But he said in the ABC News that "the firings should help VA move past the wait-time scandal that has consumed the agency for nearly two years."
He added that the scandal "have served as a distraction to the progress being made to improve the care we provide in Phoenix and across the nation...[but it] marks an important step in moving past the events of the past and refocusing solely on caring for our nation's veterans."
