Durbin Announces Intent to Introduce Legislation to Address Weaknesses in VA Hiring

Press Release

Durbin Announces Intent To Introduce Legislation To Address Weaknesses In VA Hiring

At a congressional oversight hearing today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced that he intends to introduce legislation to address weaknesses in the hiring practices and quality control at VA Medical facilities across the country. The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing included testimony from the Principal Deputy Undersecretary for Health at the Department of Veterans' Affairs, Dr. Gerald Cross; Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, Tammy Duckworth; and former patient at the Marion VA Medical Center and Iraq veteran, Steven McCarty.

"The problems at Marion are very troubling and today's hearing shed light on similar issues throughout the system. The more I learn about circumstances at the Marion VA hospital, the more questions I have about how the Veterans Affairs Department manages staffing and quality control at its hospitals across the country," said Durbin. "We need to make sure that these problems are not occurring elsewhere in other VA medical centers across the country. Our veterans have risked their all for this nation; we owe them the highest quality medical care."

Durbin called for a hearing after working closely with Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) for nearly two months on the ongoing investigations regarding the spike in deaths and the hiring of Dr. Veizaga-Mendez. On August 31, the Department of Veterans Affairs suspended all inpatient surgeries at the Marion VA Medical Center due to an unusual increase in the mortality rate at the hospital. The VA Inspector General initiated an investigation after the increased mortality was discover and as questions arose about a surgeon, Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez, who was allowed to practice medicine at the facility until August 2007 despite having to surrender his license in Massachusetts after cases of malpractice and disciplinary action. Four top hospital officials at Marion have also been reassigned until an Inspector General investigation is completed.

Durbin noted that the circumstances at the Marion VA Medical Center may point to greater problems within the VA medical system. Today's hearing focused on issues with hiring and retaining the best doctors in rural hospitals, consistency in the application of standards and credentialing and the detection of problems through a system of external review.

"It is no secret that the salaries at the VA are not competitive with private hospitals or private practice. And the reality is that's not likely to change," said Durbin. "So we need to creatively look for other answers. We need to work with medical schools and teaching hospitals to tap into the talent of their professors and researchers. We need to look for avenues that would entice young doctors by helping to relieve their crushing medical school costs. And we need to find the factors that would encourage older and more experienced doctors to come and serve our veterans. I intend to introduce legislation that addresses the problem of attracting good doctors and will assure a level of scrutiny, accountability, and review throughout the VA medical system."

Last week, in response to concerns from current and former employees of the Marion VA Medical Center, Senator Durbin called on Acting Secretary of the Department of Veteran's Affairs to inform all employees of their rights under the Whistleblower Protection Act. On Saturday, Durbin requested that the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Illinois investigate allegations included in a letter he received from several current and former employees at the Marion VA. The letter, contained allegations of serious misconduct and possible criminal wrongdoing.

Source