The good news is there's some incredibly encouraging researching being done by VA experts that could pave the way for a cure: radio.com/connectingvets…
Vets who have Gulf War Illness should be cautious during the pandemic. They may be at elevated risk for complications. radio.com/connectingvets…
*research not researching but you guys know what I mean
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Really sitting with this tonight and I think what sticks out more than anything is that VA didn’t take any action against the man (a VA contractor) with a history of abusing women (VA staff) but focused seemingly all it’s attention on discrediting the victim.
I know this isn’t a revelation to anyone, really. But it’s disturbing that it appears there wasn’t much concern that a man with a track record of sexual harassment potentially escalated to violence against a woman in a hospital in broad daylight around witnesses and cops.
There was so little concern, that VA police didn’t run his background check until 2 days after they ran one on the alleged victim and shared it with VA senior leaders.
But it follows some of the things these veterans and VA staffers told me: radio.com/connectingvets…
New: @VetAffairsOIG found in a nearly yearlong review that Secretary Wilkie and his staff disparaged and sought to discredit a veteran and Congressional advisor who reported a sexual assault at the D.C. VA hospital.
@VetAffairsOIG The @VetAffairsOIG was unable to substantiate that SecVA Wilkie investigated, or asked his staff to investigate the veteran, but did find evidence he and his staff made comments that attempted to discredit her, accusing her of a history of complaints. radio.com/connectingvets…
If you'll let me, I'd like to interrupt your TLs for a moment to talk to you about Pat Duva, a 29-year-old Marine veteran who is dying of a rare brain cancer, and whose family asked me to help share his story. connectingvets.radio.com/articles/29-ye…@USMC
Pat is a history nerd and wanted to be a teacher. You'd want him on your trivia team. He from Jersey and fancies himself a pizza connoisseur. He turned down full college scholarships to become a Marine after watching the 9/11 terrorist attacks firsthand. connectingvets.radio.com/articles/29-ye…
"Pat always said, 'I went into the Marine Corps a healthy 18-year-old and I came out with all of these issues,'" his sister told me. "He felt in his heart that if he never joined, he would not have had the cancer. But he would not have changed anything." connectingvets.radio.com/articles/29-ye…
This is all VA officials would tell me:
"VA always encourages veterans to order routine prescriptions in advance. When it comes to emergent prescriptions, VA fills them onsite or uses commercial carriers to ensure timely delivery."
New from @USGAO: In January 2017, Trump said he and VA would consult private citizens to help address VA issues. This raised questions about influence on VA’s decisions.
GAO found interactions between VA officials and private citizens in 2016 and 2018. gao.gov/products/GAO-2…
@USGAO VA officials communicated with these 3 men with connections to the president about:
- Contract for a $16B electronic health record system
- Mobile app development
- Suicide prevention campaign
- Medical device registry
- Personnel decisions, including Under Secretary for Health