Secret Wait Lists and Deceit Still Thrive at Chicago VA Hospital, Whistleblower

Source: Conservative Review | April 19, 2016 | Tori Richards

The forbidden practice of lengthy secret wait lists at Veteran Affairs hospitals is still encouraged and thriving in Chicago, two years after a scandal erupted showing dozens of ensuing deaths, a whistleblower has charged.

News that veterans languished for years while waiting for care prompted a backlash by the public and Congress directed at the Obama administration. Within a year, President Obama commented that wait times averaged “just a few days” and VA Secretary Bob McDonald added that “there are a lot of myths out there.”

Yet over at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Hines, Ill., top officials apparently didn’t get the memo and it has remained business as usual. Just two weeks ago, medical staffers were told to keep lengthy appointment dates off of the books so that it wouldn’t impact the agency standard of one month, said VA social worker Germaine Clarno. 

“I feel extreme frustration and sadness for our veterans,” said Clarno, who is also the workers’ union president at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Hines, Ill.  Two years ago she joined several other whistleblowers reporting excessive appointment wait times after the issue went public. “Being a whistleblower was really a scary thing. And to think two years later, after making that sacrifice to come forward, there hasn’t been real change is a difficult pill to swallow.”

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  • Consistent April 19, 2016 at 11:05 am #4733

    Consistent April 19, 2016 at 11:08 am #4734

    slhancock1948 April 19, 2016 at 11:19 am #4737

    I like Cruz’s plan of giving vets a voucher so they can get medical care at the place of their choice! That makes sense!

    My husband served during the Vietnam era, although he did not go to Vietnam. We feel that whatever promises were made when the recruit signed up CANNOT be changed. It was a contract. It should be binding on the government’s side. When changes are made they are for the new ones, after the change, not the ones who signed up under previous agreements. This is a travesty. Many vets came back, unable o find good work because they were VN Vets. They should NOT be punished or forced into poverty or poor medical care. They were drafted during the W Wars, Korea, and the Vietnam war. Yes, some enlisted, but that should not make a difference.

    Pray for righteousness to be restored and for the peace of Jerusalem

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