Exclusive — VA Whistleblower on Veteran Suicide: It’s a Systemic Problem

Exclusive — VA Whistleblower on Veteran Suicide: It’s a Systemic Problem

by Alex Swoyer18 May 2015

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/05/18/exclusive-va-whistleblower-on-veteran-suicide-its-a-systemic-problem/

After a veteran committed suicide in the parking lot of the Phoenix Veterans Affairs regional office earlier this month, more and more VA employees are speaking out about the ongoing problems and inefficient care at the Phoenix VA.

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, whistleblower Brandon Coleman said the improper care at the emergency room for suicidal veterans is a huge problem, potentially placing liability on poor management at the facility.

“I’m a veteran first before I’m a VA employee,” said whistleblower Brandon Coleman in an earlier interview with KNXV, a local ABC affiliate.

Coleman, a former Marine and now an addiction specialist at the Phoenix VA, has been speaking out since late 2014 about the lack of care available for suicidal veterans at the Phoenix VA.

This isn’t the first time this particular VA facility has made news headlines. Early last year, several veterans died while placed on backlogged waitlists at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care facility, which sparked a nationwide investigation by the federal government into several VA medical facilities across the country.

Veteran suicide has been a problem plaguing the United States, with more than twenty veterans committing suicide each day, according to government statistics.

Coleman said, as a VA employee, if he had a suicidal veteran that needed a higher level of psychiatric care, he would take them to the emergency room and hand them off to the staff there. “However often times they were not watched and were able to simply walk out of the hospital without receiving proper treatment,” Coleman explained.

He said he also has an audio recording, which he provided with the Office of Special Council where, according to Coleman, Laurie Shea, an ER social worker states, “Five suicidal veterans were able to walk out of the hospital this past week.” The Chief of Social Work David Jacobson responded to Shea, “We are just lucky nothing bad has happened yet.”

Coleman said he has lost six veterans under his care to suicide. “After each of my six vets committed suicide, no supervisors ever once asked me how I was doing, or how I was holding up? However, after I came forward as a whistleblower, they started questioning my mental health,” Coleman told Breitbart News.

Coleman also provided Breitbart News with an audio recording, made by a VA employee who wished to remain anonymous, of Assistant Chief of Social Work Michael Leon at a meeting held at the Phoenix VA Hospital earlier this year in which Leon says one of his top priorities at the VA facility is “making sure we all get paid effectively.”

Coleman told Breitbart News, “We get paid very well for what we do and employee pay should NOT be a top priority at the Phoenix VA as vets continue to slip through the cracks.”

Jean Schaefer, a spokesperson with the Phoenix VA, defended Leon’s statement to Breitbart News, “One of the responsibilities that individual has is to make sure people get paid effectively—that is one of their jobs.”

She added, “That wouldn’t be unusual for him to say… That is one of his responsibilities.”

Schaefer also responded to Coleman’s other allegations.

“Mr. Coleman did make a number of validations about care in the emergency room, and we have taken a number of steps to correct some of those deficiencies,” she said.

Some of these steps include having a social worker present 24 hours a day, seven days a week. She explained, “Should the scheduled social worker call in sick or have some other personal emergency, the chief or associate chief of social work will work to identify staff to fill in.”

She provided a list of additional changes to Breitbart News, which include: adding new positions, including five registered nurses who are trained in mental health issues; working with community providers to help streamline the process of admitting patients to care facilities; and conducting debriefings for support and communication with staff following a suicide occurrence.

Coleman also alleges that officials at the Phoenix VA say they have a fully-staffed emergency room and that a social worker is on staff there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; however, an email obtained by Coleman suggests Leon needed last minute shifts filled in May.

Coleman alleges this “email proves they have many periods uncovered.”

Upon speaking out in December of 2014, Coleman said he has been illegally placed on administrative leave even though he is in “good standing” as an employee at the Phoenix VA.

Another Pheonix VA whistleblower, Jared Kinnaman, a vocational rehabilitation counselor, reiterated Coleman’s concerns to Breitbart News.

He said he expected recent events to prompt changes at the Phoenix VA, but that hasn’t been the case. “I expected to see changes happen almost immediately in regards to how the Phoenix VA was going to handle these situations. I was severely let down directly by my upper management,” Kinnaman said to Breitbart News.

He also highlighted the Phoenix VA’s position to staff the emergency room department with skilled social workers 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, has been “demonstrably untrue.”

“There have been detailed emails coming from management (Chiefs of Social Work) that prove that there are many gaps in coverage and the Emergency Department is critically understaffed in the area of Social Work,” he said.

Kinnaman said that, in light of the recent suicide by the veteran earlier this month on VA property, veteran suicide is “quickly becoming a tragic story told over and over with little response from the Pheonix VA.”

“The only way to fix this broken system is to clear out all of the upper management in the VA system. There are great people working in the system and we need their leadership. The employees that have an archaic way of thinking and no drive to change need to leave and allow fresh and new ideas to enter our ranks. With this, I am calling for steady fulltime leadership to be hired for the Phoenix VA Healthcare System,” Kinnaman said.

Coleman agrees with Kinnaman that leadership needs to change.

“Those in power at the Phoenix VA that are caught lying need to be terminated and held accountable,” Coleman said.

Veterans Affairs

Eric K. Shinseki was the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the Barack Obama administration, and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Note: Togo D. West Jr. was the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans, is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and married to Gail Berry West.

Gail Berry West is married to Togo D. West Jr., and a trustee at the Fisher House Foundation.

Fisher House Foundation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_House_Foundation

Fisher House Foundation is best known for a network of comfort homes where families can stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving treatment. These homes are located at major U.S. military and VA medical centers nationwide, close to the medical center or hospital it serves.

Michael P.C. Carns is a trustee at the Fisher House Foundation, and was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and was a funder for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Robin Hood Foundation, and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.

Cecily M. Carson is a leadership council member for the Robin Hood Foundation, a trustee at the Fisher House Foundation, and was a director at the Doe Fund.

Mary Jane Salk was a director at the Doe Fund, and dated Michael R. Bloomberg.

Michael R. Bloomberg dated Mary Jane Salk, a donor at the Robin Hood Foundation, and is Emma Bloomberg’s father.

Emma Bloomberg is Michael R. Bloomberg’s daughter, and was a senior planning officer for the Robin Hood Foundation.

Marian Wright Edelman is a director at the Robin Hood Foundation, and a director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.

Patrick A. Bradford is a director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and was a director at the Doe Fund.

William K. Coblentz was a senior director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and the chairman for the University of California.

Janet A. Napolitano is the president of the University of California, the homeland security secretary for the Barack Obama administration, Leonard M. Napolitano Jr’s sister, and was the Arizona state government governor.

Phoenix VA Health Care System

http://www.phoenix.va.gov/

650 E. Indian School Road
Phoenix, AZ 85012
602-277-5551 | 800-554-7174

Leonard M. Napolitano Jr. is Janet A. Napolitano’s brother, and a childhood friend of David S. Addington.

David S. Addington is Leonard M. Napolitano Jr’s childhood friend, and was a general counsel at the U.S. Department of Defense.

Chuck Hagel was the secretary for the U.S. Department of Defense, the chairman for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), the deputy administrator for the U.S. Veterans Administration, and a director at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Eric K. Shinseki was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the Barack Obama administration.

Togo D. West Jr. is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), married to Gail Berry West, and was the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans.

Gail Berry West is married to Togo D. West Jr., and a trustee at the Fisher House Foundation.

Cecily M. Carson is a trustee at the Fisher House Foundation, a leadership council member for the Robin Hood Foundation, and was a director at the Doe Fund.

Abigail Pogrebin is a director at the Doe Fund, and was a producer for the Charlie Rose Show.

Charlie Rose Show is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) program.

Charles P. Rose Jr. is an executive producer & host for the Charlie Rose Show, and an investor in Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.  

Colin L. Powell is a strategic adviser for Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and was the chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Stanley A. McChrystal was the staff director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and is an advisory board chair for Joining Forces.

Patricia Shinseki is an advisory board member for Joining Forces, and married to Eric K. Shinseki.

Eric K. Shinseki is married to Patricia Shinseki, was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the Barack Obama administration.

Togo D. West Jr. was the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans, is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and married to Gail Berry West.

Gail Berry West is married to Togo D. West Jr., and a trustee at the Fisher House Foundation.