LITTLE ROCK — The Little Rock doctor who has served as medical director of the troubled Little Rock Veterans Home for more than five years denied Tuesday that he had given his 30-day notice.
Lawrence Pickard, deputy director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, said last week that Dr. Lee Nayles had given oral notice that he would not renew his contract when it ends June 30. The Department of Veterans Affairs oversees the state’s two veterans nursing homes and two veterans cemeteries.
“I want to get to the bottom of this,” Nayles said in a phone interview Tuesday. “If they don’t want my services, I certainly don’t want to perform them for them. But I certainly haven’t resigned.”
Nayles had not returned phone calls last week from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette seeking comment for a story published about his resignation.
On Tuesday, he said he was in Las Vegas for the weekend and does not take his phone with him when he gambles. As medical director and sole primary-care physician for the 70 residents of the nursing home in Little Rock, his contract requires him to be reachable by phone for patient emergencies.
State and federal inspectors have cited Nayles’ lack of accountability and oversight in each of their past five independent annual inspections. In 2010, VA inspectors reported finding no evidence that Nayles had updated patients’ progress notes or had even stepped foot in the home for the entire year.
As medical director, Nayles is required to update patients’ progress notes and review the patients’ care every 60 days, as well as monitor prescription changes.
Further, he is required to attend quarterly quality-assurance meetings at the nursing home. The last meeting was Thursday. Nayles was absent.
Cissy Rucker, director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs, said Tuesday that whether Nayles said he resigned or not, he will not be staying on as medical director.
Gov. Mike Beebe appointed Rucker, a retired colonel and helicopter pilot from the Arkansas Army National Guard, as director of the agency two weeks ago after an investigation revealed illegal fees and lax oversight at the agency by former Director Dave Fletcher.
Rucker has said that fixing medical-care and prescription coverage at the Little Rock home is her top priority, and the clock is running with just 30 days remaining on Nayles’ contract with the state. The Little Rock Veterans Home cannot stay open without a medical director. “We are choosing not to renew his contract and are currently interviewing other doctors for the job,” she said. “Because he can’t be credentialed with the VA, we don’t have a choice.”
Nayles applied for VA credentials earlier this year so he could review medical records and order prescriptions through the federal agency as a member of its system of doctors. The Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System denied his request earlier this month.
On Tuesday, Nayles said he was unaware that the annual state and federal inspections of the Little Rock Veterans Home had cited problems with his care. But in more than one inspection, state Department of Veterans Affairs officials said they had gone over the problems with Nayles in an effort to fix them.
“I’ve been there for that many years; they renewed my contract every year. Where’s the fault? If there was a problem, why wasn’t that picked up five contracts ago?” Nayles said, adding that he would like to remain as medical director. “If you don’t fulfill a contract for me, you won’t be around next year. And that makes sense to me.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 05/30/2012