PHOENIX — Three top executives of the Phoenix VA Health Care System were fired Tuesday amid fallout from the hospital's wait-list scandal and patient deaths that galvanized nationwide reforms of the troubled veterans health system.[1]
The Department of Veterans Affairs issued "notices of proposed removal" for the Phoenix VA's Associate Director Lance Robinson; Dr. Darren Deering, the hospital's chief of staff; and Brad Curry, chief of health administration services.
"Frankly, I am disappointed that it took as long as it did for proposed actions to be made but I am satisfied that we carefully reviewed a massive amount of evidence to ensure the accountability actions are supported," Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said in a statement. "These cases have served as a distraction to the progress being made to improve the care we provide in Phoenix and across the nation.
Robinson and Curry had recently returned to work at the VA after being placed on leave in May 2014. In April 2014, whistleblowers disclosed to Congress and The Arizona Republic that veterans faced long delays for appointments, and that some had died while on secret wait lists. Follow-up probes showed that the VA in Phoenix and at hospitals nationwide had manipulated wait-time data. The revelations led to the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, nationwide VA audits, congressional reviews and a $16 billion reform bill.
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