Investigators: No deadline for VA scheduling probe
Timeline not set for NLV VA hospital investigation
WASHINGTON — The chief inspector for the Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday he has no timeline to complete investigations of scheduling practices at the North Las Vegas VA hospital and dozens of others nationwide.
Inspector General Richard A. Griffin told the House Committee on Veterans Affairs that his office has completed investigations of 12 medical centers where initial reviews turned up evidence that appointments might have been manipulated to disguise long waits to see doctors.
Republican Sen. Dean Heller and Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, who sit on congressional veterans committees, say they believe the North Las Vegas probe is among those still outstanding as they have not been told otherwise.
In Southern Nevada, a clerk told investigators that a supervisor gave her improper scheduling instructions. Nevada members of Congress who followed up with Isabel Duff, director of the Southern Nevada health system, were told the supervisor, who was not identified, was no longer with the facility and that scheduling practices were consistent with VA policy.
Contact Stephens Capital Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.
