Former Phoenix VA official speaks out after settling retaliation case
Sep 30, 2014, 7:32 PM | Updated: Oct 1, 2014, 6:42 pm
PHOENIX — One of the three whistleblowers who settled a retaliation case against the Veterans Affairs hospital in Phoenix is glad that her ordeal is over. But Paula Pedene says others at the facility are still battling to resolve their cases.
Pedene was the main spokeswoman for the VA Medical Center in Phoenix, serving in that role for roughly 20 years. But in 2010, she realized that something was wrong.
“Management was saying that we’re getting patients in within 7-14 days,” said Pedene. “We [the staff] were seeing the patients and were hearing them say, ‘It’s taken me eight months, nine months, to get an appointment.’ We knew there was a disconnect.”
The complaints were the start of a nationwide scandal over wrongdoing at VA medical facilities across the country.
Reports eventually came out that medical care for thousands of veterans had been delayed, and that as many as 40 veterans may have died because of it.
That scandal eventually led to the resignation of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and an overhaul of the agency.
The VA’s Office of Inspector General released a report in August that could not assert that long wait times directly resulted in the deaths of 40 or so patients. One of the individuals who helped bring the Phoenix problems to light, Dr. Samuel Foote, a former clinic director for the Phoenix VA, later claimed the Inspector General’s report was “a whitewash.”
When Pedene and others originally reported the Phoenix problems, Pedene said the VA demoted her to the library and took away her email access and phone.
“People tried to find me and they couldn’t,” Pedene said. “They let my emails go answered. Community members and others were getting upset with me because I wasn’t responding to their calls. People thought I was sick and dying. They had no idea. This whole cloak of inappropriateness was really a horrific ordeal to go through.”
The former Phoenix VA spokeswoman later filed a retaliation complaint against the department. Her case and that of two other individuals have been settled. But the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said it is still investigating 125 whistleblower complaints across the country.
K.J. Sloan’s case is one of them.
“She was actually removed from her position as the ethics officer (at the Phoenix VA),” Pedene said. “She has a case with the OSC. There are others that are working on other bullying and harassment cases.”
As for Pedene, the settlement of her case means that she has a new job in the communications office of the Veterans Health Administration.
“I’ll be a national program specialist, where I’ll work on veterans health campaigns. I have several other provisions in the settlement that I can’t disclose,” she said.
Pedene would not comment on whether she received any financial compensation as part of the settlement.
Another whistleblower who reached a settlement was Dr. Katherine Mitchell, who was removed as an emergency room director at the Phoenix VA after she reported that there was inadequate training and understaffing at the hospital. As part of her settlement, she has taken a new job managing the quality of patient care in the Phoenix region.
Mitchell told the Associated Press that she has seen no evidence of a cultural change at the Phoenix VA.
Pedene agreed that a change in culture is needed, but she said that she’s seen some improvement at the hospital.
She said she thinks that the VA needs to be humble and apologize to veterans and the hospital staff.
“That’s what our veterans need at this point in time: to heal,” Pedene said. “That’s what our hospital staff needs at this point in time: to heal.”
The VA responded to Pedene’s comments by sending KTAR the following written statement:
“We take whistleblower complaints seriously and will not tolerate retaliation against those who raise issues which may enable VA to better serve Veterans,” said Secretary Robert McDonald. “We depend on VA employees and leaders to put the needs of veterans first and honor VA’s core values of ‘Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence.'”
Based on the validity of their claims of retaliation, each whistleblower has settled their complaint with VA, and two have accepted new positions within the department.
We are moving forward and focusing on improving health care to our veterans.
The KTAR Newsroom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.