http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_645645.html#
Veterans Affairs won’t release any more care home reports
By Walter F. Roche Jr., TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
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Facing congressional scrutiny over details revealed in a review of care given to veterans at one of its Pennsylvania facilities, the Department of Veterans Affairs slammed the door on the release of similar reports nationwide.
In a directive dated Friday, VA officials in Washington informed local agency officials that inspection reports like the one on the VA nursing home in Philadelphia are not to be released to the public.
The directive came less than a week after the Tribune-Review disclosed details of a 2008 report on the VA’s Philadelphia nursing home that concluded the VA “failed to provide a safe and sanitary environment for their residents.”
Such reports from the Long Term Care Institute — which the VA hired to inspect its facilities — are considered “protected” documents under the provisions of a federal law designed to promote improved quality, the directive states.
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The report cited by the Trib was released by VA officials in Philadelphia under a public records request. It described how one veteran had to have his leg amputated after a serious infection had gone untreated for so long that it attracted maggots. It described blood-stained floors, a fly infestation and life-threatening treatment of veterans dependent on tube feeding.
Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joseph Sestak — two Democrats vying for Senate in next year’s primary — visited the nursing home last week and questioned why it took a public records request to get the report made public.
Sestak called on VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki to “release any other inspection reports of this nature.”
Withholding such documentation “only adds to the perception that the VA does not take the principles of accountability seriously,” Sestak wrote in an e-mail response Tuesday to the VA action.
“If the VA is unable to provide this necessary reform at the administrative level, legislation must be introduced,” Sestak wrote in a letter to Shinseki.
Specter also disagreed with the report-release ban. “This runs contrary to the VA’s desire to be an open and accountable agency,” his statement said. “I believe these documents should be made public.”
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And, you want these same bozos to run our health care, health insurance, and anything else health related like drugs?
I wouldn’t let them run a dog kennel!
Sheeple, wake up!
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Reinke Faces Life 