Grieving LV parents blast VA health care

WASHINGTON -- Arriving at the Los Angeles veterans hospital where their son Justin had died two days earlier, Tony and Mary Kaye Bailey were handed his belongings in a garbage bag.

Justin Bailey, a 1998 graduate of Las Vegas High School who was among the first Marines to serve in Iraq, died of an apparent drug overdose Jan. 26 at age 27.

Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after he was discharged from the Marines in April 2004, Justin checked himself into the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center last November. He had been abusing prescription and illicit drugs, was having trouble sleeping and suffered short-term memory loss.

But testifying Wednesday before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Tony Bailey charged that his son had received improper care during his stay at the VA hospital and its associated residential substance abuse program.

"I assumed that being a large VA facility, they would be best equipped and would have the best experience with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and related drug abuse issues," he said. "I was wrong."

Despite his known history of prescription drug abuse, Justin was allowed to take a long list of medications unsupervised, his father told senators.

"The LA VA hospital determined that after a mere two weeks at their hospital that he had the ability to self-administer medications," Bailey said. "The day before he died, he was given five different prescriptions in dosages of 14, 15 and 30 days."

Over the past two years of his life, Justin was prescribed 27 different drugs, his father said.

"It doesn't appear as if the drugs were monitored effectively, and in my opinion, he was given drugs and sent on his way instead of being properly diagnosed and treated," he said.

The Baileys ran into more problems after arriving at the hospital.

They struggled to find their son's medical records and described a "total lack of sympathy" from hospital officials. That's when they were given their son's possessions in a garbage bag.

The Baileys told their story at a hearing that focused on VA shortcomings in treating mental health problems among Iraq war veterans.

Tony Bailey, a teacher at Ira J. Earl Elementary School in Las Vegas, paused to hold back tears several times during his testimony. His wife, a controller at the Community College of Southern Nevada who was Justin's stepmother, moved her chair up and put an arm around him.

Also testifying were Randall and Ellen Omvig of Grundy Center, Iowa. Their son Joshua, a 22-year-old Iraq war veteran, shot himself with a handgun in December in front of his mother. They blame post-traumatic stress disorder for the suicide.

Ira Katz, deputy chief patient care services officer, said the VA is trying to improve mental health services in light of the tragedies.

"I want to say with respect to the issues that the Bailey family raised, we are looking very carefully at our program, and we're looking for lessons to be learned," Katz told senators.

Justin's death has led to changes at the Los Angeles VA hospital, Tony Bailey said, including surprise inspections, reductions in medication dosages and a greater weekend staff presence.

An inspector general team and medical investigators are probing the circumstances of Justin's death and will form a plan to prevent similar situations, VA Secretary Jim Nicholson said during an April 11 appearance in Las Vegas.

"We take each one of those seriously," Nicholson said.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., blasted the VA after meeting with the Baileys on Wednesday.

"There was a lack of caring, a lack of concern, a lack of competence," she said. "And we lost a young veteran for no apparent reason."

Berkley, who sits on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, called mental health care "one of the most neglected parts of the VA." She said the VA should interview veterans periodically when they leave the military to keep track of their state of mind.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., also called for more VA action.

"It's important to ensure that our nation's veterans are treated with top-notch medical care and the respect and dignity they deserve," said Ensign, who sits on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. "Justin Bailey's story is a terrible tragedy. It's critical that we conduct proper oversight so we can prevent similar occurrences in the future."

The VA is failing to keep up with increased demand for mental health care among service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, the committee chairman.

"Without question, the administration should have been taking the necessary steps at the start of this war to ensure that VA was prepared for the growing demand for mental health care," Akaka said. "We know that the VA mental health system has long suffered from funding cuts and long waiting lines for care."