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FOX13 investigates after whistleblower alleges malpractice at one of the largest veterans centers in the country

1/15/2020
FOX13

Updated: January 15, 2020 - 10:33 PM

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A whistleblower reached out to FOX13 alleging malpractice at one of the largest veterans centers in the country.

The whistleblower said patient appointments at an Arkansas VA hospital were intentionally deleted to make quota, putting the lives at Mid-South veterans at risk.

The man who spoke to FOX13 lives in a constant state of fear and worried he would be fired for reporting the things he saw. He recently retired, but fears he could lose his benefits.

He said the risk is worth is because otherwise he fears nothing will ever be done to right an unforgivable wrong.

Our whistleblower was an employee at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System for decades.

So why now? Why come forward with this information now?

“Because the management that was in charge of this is there and these things are potentially being carried out on a daily basis,” the whistleblower said, adding he started working with veterans, “to give back, because our nation wouldn’t exist without the veteran population.”

In the early 2000s, he alleges, things hit rock bottom.

“The Chief PT at the Little Rock VA, CAVHS, ordered and demanded that numerous therapists go in to doctor’s orders and patient consults, and discontinue them using the words ‘administrative clean up,’” the whistleblower said.

According to publicly available documents, several CAVHS employees reported that same manager, Robin Atkins forced them to delete patient consults between 2000 and 2005.

“She would curse and shout, and threaten people with their job performance, and ultimately their employment,” the whistleblower said.

Atkins never replied to our multiple requests for comment. Instead, a hospital spokesperson told us they wouldn’t be able to comment unless we gave up the whistleblower.

We told them that wouldn’t be happening and reminded them the information was submitted to the VA directly.

In 2014, a newspaper uncovered a secret wait-list at the Phoenix VA.

A whistleblower reported delayed appointments resulting in veteran deaths.

Investigators found the motivation was financial. VA officials could have missed bonuses for short wait times.

Our whistleblower said the situation at CAVHS was worse today than the highly-publicized Phoenix case.

“It’s my understanding, at the Phoenix VA, they altered patient data for personal gain, but that was done by rescheduling appointments, so those patients were finally seen. In our case, these were discontinued. Thousands of veterans went without their care.”

Several whistleblowers gave me copies of complaints filed with CAVHS and the VA Office of Accountability - an office created specifically to address issues after the Phoenix VA scandal.

In those documents we found allegations about cancelled appointments in several departments. We also found the name of a veteran who worked at CAVHS.

FOX13 tracked that veteran down and spoke with him for months about his appointments canceled without explanation. He expressed concerns about retaliation for sharing his story.

When FOX13 called him for a scheduled phone interview he didn’t pick up.

We are not naming that veteran out of respect for his concerns for his safety, but as he told us, and is confirmed in the whistleblower reports: another VA employee asked why he canceled his appointments.

The veteran explained he hadn't, and asked primary care why his appointments were marked as “no show”.

In tears, the clerk confessed her supervisor told her to mark the appointments as “canceled,” or their performance would be rated inferior.

The whistleblower feels that the corruption goes all the way to the top of the VA hospital.

"The Office of Accountability is involved. They didn’t take action for two years. The Director’s office, the Chief of Staff’s Office, they all have knowledge of this. No one looked at the electronic data that proves this event did occur, and potentially is going on today,” the whistleblower said.

The whistleblower feels that if a situation like this could happen in Little Rock, it could happen anywhere.

Dr. Steven Forbush, an associate professor of Physical Therapy at University of Central Arkansas said the consequences for these veterans could be dire.

“If they’re not functional, not moving well, they’re going to have a lot more disability, a lot more issues, and they’re going to have a lot more pain, for a lot longer care and more pain, surgeries and MRIs in the long run," said Dr. Forbush.

CAVHS would not interview on-camera but sent us a statement.

It reads in part, “Allegations from employees concerning patient appointment scheduling...have been reviewed by both CAVHS leadership and the Office of Accountability and Whistle-blower Protection, and found to have no merit.”

Our whistleblower said it took two years for investigators to come knocking.

“Finally, they sent some representatives to ask some questions, but the local VA was allowed to investigate themselves. Essentially, the bank robbers were allowed to investigate the bank robbery.”

Meanwhile, those allegedly responsible, including Atkins, still work at CAVHS.

“Ultimately it could have cost lives. Veterans’ lives. It’s a tragedy.”

After waiting eight months, the VA said it had no records responsive to our request about the investigation conducted by the Office of Accountability and Whistle-blower Protection.

When FOX13 pushed back we got a call from a very senior member of the OAWP.

He pointed us to an Inspector General report and said it should answer most of my questions.