CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – For the second time in as many weeks, a suspected homicide is under investigation at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center. Homicide is now suspected in the April 2018 death of 81-year-old George Nelson Shaw, he died the same month as Retired Sgt. Felix McDermott.
U.S. Senators West Virginia, Joe Manchin and Shelly Moore Capito are urging the Inspector General to expedite the investigation.
Despite this, veterans like Retired U.S. Army Major and author John Ready believes the the credibility of the Veteran’s Administration is continuing to suffer.
Ready cites the 2014 investigation into the Phoenix Veterans Health Administration.
In 2012, medical staff in Phoenix told then VA Director, Sharon Helman wait times were very dangerous. By 2014, it was estimated that as many as 40 veterans may have died while waiting for care. Multiple whistle blowers produced evidence of a cover-up and an investigation was launched. Helman was fired in 2015, but was able to keep her $9,080 bonus paid in 2013 for achieving a “highly successful” rating.
Ready said, “There’s going to be breakdown where the families don’t trust them, the patients don’t trust them and I understand the VA has worked hard to try to regain that trust.” “Families are just going to have the automatic notion that the staff and administrators at these VA hospitals don’t have their loved one’s health safety in the forefront of their minds.”
Looking ahead Ready sees potential continued trouble for VA system.
Ready said, “Someone getting out of medical school or residency is going to say I’m not going to work at one of those places, they have a terrible record. I don’t want my professional carreer associated with something like that, and the patients, the families are going to suffer because of this.”