The supervisors at central Arkansas' veterans hospital who instructed employees to manipulate patient data and lied to federal investigators were reassigned to lower-paying jobs only after members of the media and Congress inquired about the hospital's disciplinary actions, documents show.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette first requested disciplinary records from the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in mid-March after the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Inspector General released a report detailing how local VA employees altered patients' wait times to make it appear veterans weren't waiting as long to see doctors.
The VA denied the newspaper's request but said in a statement that the two employees, which the U.S. Office of Special Counsel identified as Jacquelyn Riggins and Anthony Hatchett, were delivered disciplinary actions in January.
VA officials said both supervisors were permanently removed from supervisory and appointment-scheduling positions at the system's John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital in Little Rock after the wait-time problems were reported.
But their salaries, both of which had increased after the wrongdoing was reported by a whistleblower in 2014, remained the same until April. In March, Riggins and Hatchett still earned salaries of $46,705 and $87,258, respectively.
Hatchett on April 3 was downgraded from the position of health systems specialist. He was reassigned as an instructor of the VA's Prevention and Management of Disruptive Behavior training program, according to a document the VA sent to Congress that was obtained by the newspaper. The reassignment cut his pay by $10,239 to $77,019 a year, according to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
Riggins is now assigned as a program support assistant, the VA's letter said. The salary range for that position is $31,504 to $40,954, according to the VA.
Hatchett's position change came four days after U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, sent a letter to the Little Rock VA questioning the administration's response to the inspector general's findings.
U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., called for the removal of any VA employees who doctor patient data. Hill co-sponsored the VA Accountability Act of 2015, which would ease the VA's ability to fire employees for cause. The bill passed the House last year and is awaiting Senate approval.
"The longer this story goes on, and the more details that emerge, it becomes increasingly clear that VA's only motivation for discipline is to quell public outrage," Hill said Wednesday. "VA won't work properly until failing employees and those who willfully manipulate veterans records are removed from the system, regardless of whether that information makes it into the public spotlight."
The Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System was entangled in the same wait-time scandal that rocked the country two years ago after reports that dozens of veterans died while awaiting treatment at the VA hospital in Phoenix. The scandal prompted the ouster of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.
The Little Rock VA's data altering wasn't publicly known until March. Daniel Wheeler, who scheduled appointments at the hospital, blew the whistle on the improper behavior in June 2014.
The inspector general found that nonsupervisors and several supervisors systematically altered patients' wait times. The federal investigators also reported that Riggins and Hatchett "displayed a lack of candor" when interviewed by investigators.
The watchdog's findings were reviewed by the VA's Office of Accountability Review, which agreed that wait-time manipulation had occurred and the two supervisors had lied to federal investigators.
The Office of Accountability Review also absolved senior leadership officials at Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, saying they took appropriate action to ensure appointments were scheduled properly.
Any decisions regarding discipline for Hatchett and Riggins were left to local administrators. U.S. Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner in a December letter to President Barack Obama said central Arkansas VA officials planned to terminate Hatchett and suspend Riggins for 30 days.
Hatchett was not fired, and it's unclear whether Riggins was suspended, because of privacy restrictions on what personnel information the agency is required to release under the Freedom of Information Act. Riggins has declined to comment on the matter, and attempts to reach Hatchett on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
When asked why the termination recommendation wasn't followed, central Arkansas VA spokesman Melanie Sabik said local leaders consider employees' responses to accusations before taking disciplinary action. Federal law mandates that federal employees be notified and given a chance to respond before any discipline occurs.
Miller, the Florida Republican, said it was a tactic to deceive the public.
"The facts are that CAVHS employees lied about wait times, then lied to federal investigators about doing so, and CAVHS leaders refused to fire those responsible," Miller said. "To make matters worse, CAVHS officials tried to hide these issues from veterans, the public and even the president of the United States by shrouding them in a cloud of secrecy and misleading the Office of Special Counsel regarding the actions they were taking to hold the responsible employees accountable."
Like Hill, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., co-sponsored a Senate bill that would help the VA hold employees accountable.
"The Department of Veterans Affairs lacks the tools to discipline and remove bad actors," he said through a spokesman Wednesday. "Our veterans need to be a top priority, and employees unwilling to do so need to be held accountable."
The Veterans First Act, part of which was drafted by Boozman, also would prohibit bonuses for employees found guilty of wrongdoing.
Riggins and Hatchett each received performance bonuses every December from 2010-2013, documents show. The bonuses, which ranged from $2,052 to $427, stopped in 2014 -- the year wait-time manipulation allegations arose.
The Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System has taken many steps to improve scheduling since the wrongdoing was reported. It added two group-practice managers to the staff, improved training and implemented random audits.
"Employees at CAVHS care deeply for every veteran they are privileged to serve," Sabik said. "CAVHS has over 3,000 employees, many of them veterans themselves, who are expected and trained to live by our core values and ensure that veterans receive the services and benefits they've earned and deserve."
The Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System named Dr. Margie Scott its new director in April. The system had operated under three interim directors since former director Michael Winn retired in October 2014. Scott served as interim director for almost a year immediately after Winn's retirement.
The national wait-time manipulation scandal received attention again this week after VA Secretary Robert McDonald became the target of anger from both sides of the aisle Monday when he compared the wait for veterans' doctors appointments to waiting in line at Disneyland.
Disney, he argued, does not measure wait times for rides but is more concerned with the overall customer experience. The VA should mold itself in that way, he said.
Disney, however, replied that it does measure wait-time data and said it considers the data important.
McDonald backtracked on his remarks Tuesday.
Metro on 05/26/2016