In Home Help

[Ginterkill]

I am not a legal begal, but the idea that VHA employees are somehow imune from law is prevelant, in my experience. For instance, after the original Cat One behavioural flag was issued, all my meds got terminated. Fearing that I would suicide, the mental health clinic tapped into their own stockpiles of drugs to tide me over until I could get it resolved.

So my Suicide Prevention Coordinator took Wellbutrin pills of nearly the correct dose from a doc in the clinic and gave them to me on the corner of 7th and Pearl streets in my home town. A FOIA request revealled that once VHA learned of this they conducted an internal investigation that revealled one written confession, one verbal, two dozen seperate prescription drugs, at least one Controlled Substances Act drug (clonazepam), and one "VA Secure Prescription Tablet in purse...".

But wait, it gets better... After the investigation, the report was sent to the Chief Of Staff. The one who triggered all of my issues, but certainly could not have known Behavioural Health was bypassing him, decided not to inform local and State officials, or ANY agency of what the police say are multiple felony crimes spread out across a network of VHA employees.

These facts are not in dispute, nor is it any longer disputed that VHA intentionally entered misleading information into my personal health record (and the Privacy Act has mo statute of limitations for criminal violations). However, throughout this entire ordeal, and there us WAY more, again and again this vague idea that VHA was above laws keeps coming up with them. My last MST PTSD counselor at the Vet Center, aware of all I just shared said, "But we are Federal employees. State laws dont apply."

I see that attitude echoed in accounts of encounters at VA all the time.