More On Phila And Phoenix Scandals

[Berta]

"Asked to submit suggestions for how to improve services for veterans, employees at the Philadelphia VA Regional Office instead asked management for “very stylish” golf shirts.

In fact, as of late last month, just two comments had been submitted to the new suggestion box, according to Philadelphia VA Regional Office Director Diana Rubens: one requested the golf shirts, and another critiqued the suggestion box itself, saying it was a waste of time because the VA never listened to suggestions anyway.

Ms. Rubens instituted the suggestion boxes last month after some employees complained that an incentive program to process claims quickly could lead to incorrect decisions and rushed work in an effort to collect bonuses — similar to waitlist manipulation discovered at the Phoenix VA last year that erupted into a nationwide scandal."

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/11/philly-va-employees-ask-golf-shirts-suggestion-box/#ixzz3VUnGbxqL
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"The Philadelphia VA regional office abruptly canceled plans Wednesday to pay bonuses for speeding up claims processing, after employees said they feared the bonuses would encourage them to make hasty decisions and deny deserving veterans their rightful benefits.

The bonus program, first reported by The Washington Times on Tuesday, offered $15,000 bonuses to teams that met processing targets and offered breakfast, lunch or snacks to teams that processed the most claims."

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/14/va-cancels-bonus-program-giving-employees-incentiv/#ixzz3VUmpHHTY


"The VA blundered its first public act of accountability in this year’s wait list scandal, with department investigators and attorneys failing to make a case stick against the Phoenix clinic director who oversaw the cooked books and secret lists that left veterans struggling for care.

Sharon Helman, the director, was fired from the Department of Veterans Affairs, but only because she improperly took thousands of dollars in gifts. A personnel appeals judge last week rejected the VA’s claim that she should also have been dismissed for overseeing the wait lists.

Ms. Helman’s case is just one that the VA is handling in the wake of the wait list scandal, and so far its investigators have had about 20 percent of their decisions weakened or overturned on appeal, according to the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee."

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/31/va-botches-wait-list-case-against-phoenix-clinic-d/#ixzz3VUnkYozT
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[Notorious Kelly]

Wow- my concern would be accuracy and overhauling the archaic system.