Our latest VA Whistleblower continues to deliver on an aspect of the VA that is under-reported. In the previous installment, we published evidence of poor management and the mishandling of taxpayer dollars regarding priorities. Party first, Veterans later, if you like. This time, we’re taking it national.
The VA is holding a large gathering in Chicago at the end of the month despite a worsening fiscal situation it kept under wraps until the President’s budget was announced. From our Whistleblower: ‘This is a huge story that has not been reported, and I don’t know why.‘
Almost every VA facility across the country is currently in a deficit situation. These deficits range anywhere from $3-4M up to $100M. Hospitals have been struggling since the new year to decrease their onboard staffing, leading to staffing situations across the nation. That itself is the issue that has yet to be widely reported in the news, and congressional offices are just getting wind of it
The scandal I bring to you all in the press is that as the VA struggles to pay for salaried clerks, police, doctors, and nurses to staff hospitals, the VA leaders are treating themselves to a week in Chicago for the American College of Healthcare Executives conference next week.
The tuition for this meeting is well over a $1000, hotels are charging maximum rates $250-350 a night while VA leaders wine and dine with each other for the week while hospitals struggle to staff the facilities. ACHE attendance is not a requirement, it’s simply mingling with private sector healthcare facilities.
Priorities?
I would actually question why the VA would pay for any staff member to attend this. Clearly, the optics of VA leaders wining and dining while their hospitals try to hire staff is bad. This is nothing but an opportunity for VA leaders to schmooze with others at the taxpayer’s expense at a time of multi-billion dollar shortfall projections, yes, billions
I’m not suggesting this is 20 or 30 staff members attending, but literally hundreds of VA employees.
Not to worry. The Veterans administration has guidance regarding such matters.
And here they are, gathering by the hundreds to pat each other on the back about how these rules don’t apply to them.
The Whistleblower requests under FOIA a listing of all VA attendees to this event and the cost associated with their travel if anyone has the bandwidth for that.
We’ll share the details if or when you ever get a response.