VA responds to accusations of falsifying records at Springs clinic
The Veterans Administration is responding to accusations that staffers at the Colorado Springs clinic shortened wait times and didn’t properly care for hundreds of veterans.
Park Major, 43, is a Gulf War veteran who suffers from back pain, has several tumors on his body and needs a pacemaker.
“You feel abandoned,” Major said. “You feel like you gave your life for your country and you’re still giving your life for your country.”
We introduced you to Major in the spring of 2014 when he first voiced his concerns about the wait times at the VA.
The VA opened a brand new facility in Colorado Springs in the summer of 2014 and now disputes a report from the Office of Inspector General which claims hundreds of vets did not receive timely care when they asked to be referred to doctors and specialists outside the VA through the national Veterans Choice Program.
Daniel Warvi, the Public Affairs Director for the Eastern Colorado VA health care system, contends the staff is working to shorten wait times, but it’s tough to keep up with demand. The clinic scheduled 143,000 appointments in 2014. A year later the number of appointments grew to 170,000, more than a 20 percent increase.
“We know we have scheduling issues but this is probably the fastest growing clinic the VA has,” Warvi said. “Iif there’s a veteran who says they have scheduling issues, we need to keep working on that and we will keep working on that.”
Colorado’s Republican Sen. Cory Gardner said he’s tired of waiting for the VA to get its act together.
“The excuses have got to stop, the delays have got to stop, the mistreatment has got to stop,” Gardner said. “They need to shake things up and get the job done.”
Major walked into the VA Monday for an MRI on his back, but continues to struggle to get the care he needs to live.
“Sometimes I wonder if they’re waiting for us to die, if the only way to fix the VA health care system is to let part of us die,” Major said
The VA told KRDO NewsChannel 13 it has two patient advocates at the Colorado Springs clinic to assist veterans with concerns.
