U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, a Marietta Republican, is demanding more than just a new director at the Atlanta VA Medical Center to reckon with the multiple deaths and other problems exposed by recent investigations at the facility.
In a sharply worded letter to new director Leslie Wiggins, who started on Monday, Gingrey wrote "those who were responsible for the patients who died need to be terminated" and asked for detailed follow-up reports on how Wiggins aims to repair the problems exposed by the audits.
A pair of audits by the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general published last month blamed the Atlanta VA for three deaths of patients under its care. The audit blamed inadequate oversight in the hospital’s mental health ward and said patients “fell through the cracks” when their care was contracted out to other mental health providers.
Channel 2 Action News reported a fourth VA death, a suicide, this month after several members of Congress toured the facility and were assured there were no more unexpected deaths.
“Why did it take media reports for the Atlanta VAMC to admit to the fourth death, despite being asked a direct question about unexpected deaths during the May 6th meeting?” Gingrey wrote.
The letter is the latest bit of Congressional pressure applied to the Decatur facility. House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman Jeff Miller, a Florida Republican, has called for more discipline at the facility and an end to executive bonuses there. Atlanta-area members of Congress from both parties have registered their outrage and demands for accountability.
Wiggins has said she will spend her first 30 days reviewing the reports and determining what changes to make at the hospital, which serves 90,000 area veterans.
“I am looking forward to a future meeting with Congressman Gingrey to address all of his concerns and to ensure the Atlanta VA Medical Center continues to provide all our courageous veterans with the high quality care they have earned and deserve,” Wiggins replied through a spokesman.
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