Whistleblowers Blast VA For Not Firing Bad Managers

The Daily Caller website is making some strong accusations against the VA, claiming that instead of wrongdoing managers, they just move them to smaller locations like Overton Brooks in Shreveport. The website claims that 3 different wrongdoers have made their way to Shreveport in recent years.

On the list of accused are: Shirley Bealer who alleged obstructed an internal investigation when she was the director of the hospital in Montgomery, Alabama; Skye McDougall was accused of giving false testimony to Congress; Terry Atienza was forced to retire because of absenteeism and misconduct, he then filed suit against the US government claiming racism, won and received a a settlement of $85,000 in 2013 to "resign from federal service completely", and then was rehired in Shreveport.

Shea Wilkes, a protected whistleblower from OBVAMC, told KTBS, 'There's no accountability'. He went on to say, 'taking those and moving them in different places is not going to help the situation. It's going to make it worse. Or it's going to cause a situation in a different place.'

A spokesman for the VA only chose to respond to some of the accusations. Shannon Arledge told KTBS that the situation with McDougall was all a misunderstanding, saying "allegations that she intentionally misled Congress are completely inaccurate." Arledge points to the VA's own investigation that found she misunderstood a question about wait times for patients.

Regarding Terry Atienza, the spokesman claims that his "settlement did not preclude him from applying for other positions within the federal government, or from being hired. All of the other accusations, Alredge avoided, opting to say the VA is improving their leadership skills and working to better serve our veterans.