NEWS

Suspended VA bosses to return to agency jobs next week

Dennis Wagner
The Republic | azcentral.com
The agency's inspector general has rejected the Department of Veterans Affairs' claim that a criminal probe stymied the discipline of Phoenix administrators.
  • Lance Robinson and Brad Curry, suspended by the VA for 19 months, will return to work Monday
  • Both men were top administrators at the VA before being suspended during the 2014 wait-time scandal
  • Robinson will be a planner in the VA regional office, while Curry will serve as a data analyst

Two Department of Veterans Affairs administrators in Phoenix who were suspended at the outset of a crisis over delayed patient care will return to work Monday, 19 months after they were put on paid leave and given termination notices.

Lance Robinson, associate director of the Phoenix VA Health Care System, will be assigned as a strategic planner at the VA’s southwest regional office in Gilbert, known as VISN 18, according to spokeswoman Jean Schaefer. Brad Curry, the system’s chief of Health Administration Services, will serve as a health systems specialist.

The two men have been focal points in a controversy over the VA’s perceived failure to hold leaders accountable for mismanagement and misconduct that caused a breakdown in care for veterans in Arizona and nationwide.

In recent weeks, members of Congress assailed the VA and interrogated Undersecretary David Shulkin at an Arizona field hearing of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, demanding to know why no action has been taken.

Under questioning from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Shulkin testified that the VA has been unable to complete internal investigations of the two men because the U.S. Attorney’s Office prevented interviews with key witnesses amid a criminal investigation.

Why have these VA suspensions lasted 19 months?

But in a letter this week to the committee chairman, Robinson's attorney, Julia Perkins, said Shulkin’s testimony was inaccurate. Perkins said federal prosecutors turned down a criminal referral months ago, and her client has been through more than 12 hours of internal VA interviews. She said VA bosses realize they cannot make a legal case to fire Robinson.

Shulkin and other officials at VA headquarters have refused to comment on those assertions.

McCain said Friday he was not aware Robinson and Curry were returning to work until informed by The Arizona Republic.

“I hadn’t heard that, but it’s another compelling argument that we have a long way to go before we reform the VA,” McCain told The Republic. “It also, to me, authenticates the need for the Choice Card. The only way that we’re going to reduce the size and bureaucracy of the VA is to have veterans going to other places to get their health care.”

McCain suggested that further investigation is warranted.

McCain said he did know about possible problems with Shulkin’s testimony and that his office was pursuing answers.

VA inspectors reject blame for delayed disciplining of Phoenix executives

U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., said she would push VA Secretary Bob McDonald to "fix this outrageous situation."

"It's beyond frustrating to see this situation drag out for so long, cost taxpayers so much, and fail to provide any accountability in the end," Kirkpatrick said.

Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) Legislative and Political Director Dan Caldwell said the VA "has shown that it does not take accountability, or Congress, seriously" by allowing Robinson and Curry to return to work. He said the message sent to the public is that the agency is protecting its own instead of helping veterans.

Robinson and Curry have declined interview requests since they were placed on suspension. Since May 2014, they’ve received hundreds of thousands of dollars in pay and benefits while not working.

The two administrators, and former Phoenix VA hospital Director Sharon Helman, became key figures in a controversy that started in Phoenix and enveloped the veterans health-care system nationwide. Investigations and audits found huge backlogs for medical appointments had been covered up, and that data manipulation occurred in part to justify bonuses. Inspectors also concluded the VA suffered from a corrupt culture that included bullying, cronyism, discrimination and whistleblower retaliation.

VA chief of staff departs after less than a year in post

Helman was fired. Robinson and Curry were the subject of internal probes to determine their "knowledge, involvement and culpability" in patient-scheduling fraud and retaliation against whistleblowers. But VA inquiries and administrative hearings regarding her, Robinson and Curry have been plagued with conflicts, delays and contradictory findings.

Perkins alleged in her letter that VA leaders have kept Robinson in limbo because they can’t make a legal case to fire him, but are under intense political pressure to take action.

Thousands of patients were put on phony wait lists in the past few years, and some died awaiting care. The crisis led to the resignation of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and passage of a $16.3 billion reform bill.

Republic reporter Dan Nowicki contributed to this story.