“We’ve all heard the sensational stories of whistleblower retaliation in federal agencies, but I have the sense most potential whistleblowers get left in the dust of federal bureaucracy, with multiple oversight agencies passing complaints back and forth and little resolution. My biggest fear in this process was retaliation, but I would prefer that over the feeling of alienation.” This is an excerpt from a letter I sent to Senator Shaheen, Senator Hassan, and Congressman Pappas. I eventually had interactions with staff members from all three; mostly disappointing.
In part one of this series, I discussed the injustice I witnessed in the care of our nation’s Veterans and the malfeasance of management at the Manchester VA. In part two, I discussed the stonewalling I received from the federal oversight agencies after I worked up the courage to blow the whistle.
The only option I had left was to contact our elected representatives and inform them of the experience of a whistleblower. Senator Hassan and Congressmen Pappas are both on their respective Veteran’s Affairs Committees. Hassan recently asked the Secretary of the VA to address the failing infrastructure in Manchester, and Pappas has addressed issues of whistleblower retaliation within the VA and the oversight agencies. All of New Hampshire’s congressional delegation make periodic visits to the Manchester VA to shake hands with employees, take pictures, and visit with management. I’ll let the reader decide if these are meaningful visits or mere photo-ops. In my opinion, this isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue but more of a dysfunction of the bureaucracy.
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My first reply was from a Veteran’s representative for Congressman Pappas. We emailed back and forth for two months, and I was repeatedly told they were reviewing my information. Eventually, I was told the oversight agencies have never shared information with their staff, and there is likely little they can do. I guess whistleblowers are not the only ones whom these agencies are stonewalling. I’m not sure how Congress can conduct oversight if the agencies refuse to share information.
Worse was the phone call from Senator Shaheen’s staff member, who rushed me off the phone after he independently determined my mistreatment was due to my choosing to be anonymous. He informed me he would call the VA New England Director to inquire about my case, but he never called me back and did not return my call when I attempted to follow up.
Eventually, I did receive some hope from the staff of Senator Hassan. I spent time talking on the phone with one person and emailing back and forth with another. For the first time in eight months, someone spoke to me and listened to what I had to say. I was told my case was used to inform meetings where communication among the agencies was discussed, and they reached out to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and received a response to my concerns.
The response from OIG was a disturbing act of gaslighting and excuses of why they didn’t address my concerns, which included not having evidence of harm, too much time passing, and “Covid.” Most disturbing was only one of my issues was forwarded to VA New England “for awareness,” meaning none of the other issues were forwarded as I was led to believe that nothing was investigated, and there was no follow-up or actual oversight. This is why I’d asked to speak with a human being to ensure all information was being communicated by all involved agencies. Additionally, they suggested I should have kept better records to determine if harm occurred to Veterans. This would not only violate VA policy but also patient privacy laws. It seems the oversight and investigation agency was suggesting I do my own oversight and investigation. Of course, I was still not given a point of contact at OIG, so my reply was to Hassan’s staff asking they send it to OIG (talk about a bureaucratic nightmare).
It’s been over a year since I started this journey, and I have yet to speak with anyone at OIG or VA New England Headquarters about these issues.
I want to take a minute and say that most of the Veterans at Manchester VA are receiving good medical care. There are good people working at the VA, many who are true advocates of the community, but when there are issues that need to be addressed, management fails almost every time. When I think about the staggering number of managers walking around the Manchester VA on any given day, this is just not acceptable. The common mantras “we’ve always done it that way” and “look where you work” wouldn’t be a reasonable excuse in any other Manchester Hospital, and it shouldn’t be at the VA either.
This three-part series demonstrated not only a failure of VA management but also a failure of oversight on a staggering scale.
I will supplement this series with commentary and opinion pieces in the future.
