CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A new report from the watchdog for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Office of Inspector General, details problems with top regional VA leadership that it says led to decreased care for veterans.
The report, released Tuesday, studied the overall culture and delivery of service of the VA’s healthcare region covering North Carolina and Virginia, known as VISN 6.
WBTV has spent years investigating allegations of harassment and retaliation by the former VISN director DeAnne Seekins.
Seekins retired in January 2021 after investigations into allegations against her by multiple federal offices, including the VA’s Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.
The OIG’s report directly took aim at Seekins’ leadership.
“As reported by the local media, the previous Network Director, who retired in January 2021, experienced public disagreements with other VISN staff,” the report said, linking to two WBTV stories.
“The public nature of these disagreements affected VISN leadership stability.”
The report made multiple mentions of the fact that nearly all of the VISN leadership was working in an acting capacity and many of the top leaders—including the then-acting director—had been on the job less than a year.
During the period of the review, the OIG found problems with staffing and recruitment, which led to increased wait times.
“The OIG’s review of access metrics and clinical vacancies identified potential organizational risk factors at the...
(AP) If a government hopes to function, it has to be able to enforce its laws. Our country is no exception, and in fact, the U.S. government is very good at enforcement. So when a big fraud case c...