In the News

An investigation into alleged administrative failures at the Buffalo VA Medical Center has been completed, and the probe’s findings could soon be publicly released, according to the inspector general of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The report’s upcoming release comes after Michael J. Swartz, executive director of the VA Western New York Healthcare System, and Chief of Staff Dr. Philippe Jaoude were abruptly reassigned last month out of patient-facing positions pending the results of an investigation into mismanaged cancer care referrals at the Buffalo hospital.

Michael J. Missal, who leads the office tasked with VA oversight, said during a congressional committee meeting Tuesday that the Veterans Health Administration has been provided with a draft of the report on the Buffalo VA, as is common practice. Missal’s office is waiting to hear back from the agency, which will respond to the inspector general’s recommendations.

“As soon as we get it back from VHA, which should be relatively soon, then we’ll be able to turn it around and publish the report,” Missal said in response to a question asked by Rep. Tim Kennedy.

Kennedy, a Democrat who is a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, was among those who grilled VA officials during the committee’s hearing Tuesday. Kennedy spent his allotted five minutes asking officials questions about the Buffalo VA, which falls within his district and has been embroiled in scandal over the last month.

U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy, while not on the committee, also has been plugged in to the situation at the Buffalo VA. During a news conference last month in front of the Bailey Avenue complex, Langworthy said apparent administrative lapses resulted in up to four dozen cases where local veterans experienced delays in referrals to community providers for cancer care.

“There’s a real crisis of confidence in the health system right now, based upon the removal of the leadership and the stories that we’ve heard,” Kennedy said Tuesday.

Kennedy said he discussed the Buffalo VA this past weekend with Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the undersecretary for health at the VA. Elnahal, who testified at the hearing Tuesday, said he plans to visit the Buffalo VA soon.

“My personal attention is on making sure that things improve and improve fast at the Buffalo VA,” Elnahal said. “It’s what the veterans in your district and around the Buffalo area deserve.”

Missal said his staff “routinely finds breakdowns in leadership” and other areas that erode accountability. He referenced a recent investigation into the VA medical center in Hampton, Va., which highlighted avoidable delays in cancer treatment, failures to conduct quality reviews and substandard surgical care. After the report came out, the Hampton VA Medical Center executive director was reportedly reassigned to another VA office – that practice of reshuffling offenders was heavily criticized Tuesday by Rep. Mike Bost, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

While Kennedy’s questions zoned in on the Buffalo VA, the bulk of the hearing Tuesday focused on oversight of the VA. The picture painted during the hearing was of a massive agency – 400,000 employees who serve 9 million enrolled veterans – that is facing a budget crunch, brought about by record-breaking patient volume after the implementation of the PACT Act.

he PACT Act of 2022 expanded and extended eligibility for VA health care to veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. The law led to a rapid increase in veteran eligibility, and the VA went on a hiring spree last year – the agency brought in more than 61,000 external employees – to meet demand for care.

But hiring has slowed this year. In fact, union nurses at the Buffalo VA held a protest Aug. 23 over what they called a “hiring freeze” that has worsened staffing conditions inside the hospital.

Kennedy described the situation as a hiring delay of around nine months – “effectively a hiring freeze,” he said – and asked Elnahal what level of funding would be needed to appropriately staff VA medical centers.

The VA is asking Congress for an additional $12 billion to cover an estimated budget shortfall in fiscal year 2025. That supplemental funding, Elnahal said, would allow the VA to increase its staffing level by 5,000 employees compared with agency payroll in mid-June.

“We would be able to grow responsibly and within the budget to be able to meet growing veteran care needs,” he said.

Kennedy also asked Elnahal about infrastructure needs at the Buffalo VA hospital, which is about 75 years old. Kennedy described the building as “falling apart,” with staff doing what they can to put “Band-Aids on it.”

While tens of millions of dollars in spending is projected at the VA Western New York Healthcare System over the next five to 10 years, plans for a new Buffalo VA hospital could be at least 20 years down the road.

“We ultimately need a new hospital, a new VA Hospital in Buffalo, and we’re not alone,” Kennedy said.

Elnahal responded by saying the VA has requested more construction funding in multiple budgets, given that the median age of a VA hospital is nearly 60 years old. He told Kennedy he would work with him to get the Buffalo project “on the priority list” but cautioned that “it’s going to take some time.”

“I look forward to visiting the Buffalo VA with you in the coming weeks to witness myself what the condition of the infrastructure is,” Elnahal said.

Source: The Buffalo News