VA whistleblowers disciplined 10 times more than peers; managers investigate themselves
By Joe Davidson
July 30 at 7:00 AM
While the Department of Veterans Affairs prides itself on running the nation’s largest integrated health system, the agency suffers from a chronic disease of its own making — whistleblower retaliation.
Each year, 9 million veterans get good care at VA’s 1,243 health-care facilities, but they would be better served if the ingrained culture of retribution were remedied. It was whistleblowers who exposed the scandal in 2014 involving the coverup of long patient wait times. That led to ongoing efforts, with some success, to fix the system. For whistleblowers facing management revenge, it’s not fixed yet.
A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report reveals serious problems related to holding employees accountable, particularly when it comes to whistleblowing.
Correcting that should be a top item on the agenda of Robert Wilkie, who is scheduled to be sworn in Monday as the new VA secretary. As my colleague Lisa Rein has reported, he is taking over a department that has become highly politicized under President Trump.
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