Meet the new boss, same as the old boss…
VA Secretary Shulkin says “we will not tolerate whistleblower retaliation in the VA”, however 9 months into the new Administration and the games played at the VA that were going to go away are still being played.
Quoted in the article is Katherine Mitchel, a doc at the Phoenix VA. She lists continuing retaliatory measures, including Veterans Affairs breaching the agreement to settle her grievances.
Katherine Mitchell, a VA physician in Phoenix:
“Although I do have a good relationship with my current immediate supervisor, the overall … retaliation in my current job worsened in January 2017 and continues unabated. The overt retaliation from Veterans Affairs Central Office (VACO) also worsened under the Trump administration … Continue Reading
Dec 2015 – “Dr. Mitchell told a Senate Veterans’ Affairs field hearing outside Phoenix about “dangerous Emergency Department patient safety defects,” including “a significant lack of nurse triage training, and inadequate nursing triage protocols” and the Phoenix VA hospital’s “dysfunctional institutional culture.” The hospital was at the scandal’s epicenter.”
From the written testimony of Dr. Katherine L. Mitchell to the Senate Committee on VA 12/14/15 Field Hearing
“I am a VA physician who worked within the Phoenix VA Emergency Department (EED)) for almost 10 years until I involuntarily was transferred to a defunct VA clinic in retaliation for repeatedly identifying dangerous ED patient safety deficits . After year s of having my reports of life – threatening conditions ignored by internal Phoenix VA mechanisms I publically became a whistleblower in April 2014 in an attempt to have the VA resolve those many serious problems. I alerted the public and Congress to unsafe conditions in the Phoenix VA Emergency Department, whistleblower retaliation, facility scheduling irregularities, and other issues. After the Veterans Health Administration (VVHA)) formally acknowledged the workplace retaliation against me, I accepted a position within the VA Veterans Integrated Service Network (VVISN)) 18 office as a Specialty Care Medicine coordinator.. Although I continually advocate for improvements at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs ED and Mental Health Clinic, in my current position I have been told by Veterans Affairs administrators that I am not allowed to actively address the known dangerous conditions.”
Washington Post Full Article
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2017/10/30/victims-say-va-whistleblower-retaliation-is-growing-under-trump-despite-rhetoric/?utm_term=.0059baece1e9
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