Report slams former Marion VA administration

Report slams former Marion VA administration
BY JOHN HOMAN, The Southern
Thursday, August 14, 2008 7:18 PM CDT

MARION — The most recent investigation into the VA Medical Center in Marion reveals hospital managers knew some doctors there were not properly credentialed, including Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez, a surgeon suspected of being at least partly responsible for nine confirmed patient deaths last year.

The first of a three-part report filed by the Veterans Affairs Administrative Investigation Board (AIB) charges that numerous problems existed at the VA Medical Center in Marion.

The AIB will make employment recommendations concerning the former leadership at Marion.

In its report, the AIB notes that management at Marion dismissed warnings about Veizaga-Mendez’s credentials as “administrative difficulties.”

The Southern Illinoisan's attempts to reach Veizaga-Mendez for comment have been unsuccessful.

The report says the former medical center director failed to properly focus on the quality of care by ignoring troubling patient incident reports; failed to establish a follow-up process for patient deaths; and allowed financial considerations to predominate over quality-of-care issues.
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