Retired Navy Doc to Head VA Office of the Medical Inspector

Retired Navy doctor named to interim VA post
Army Times
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
July 10, 2014

The Veterans Affairs Department has named a career Navy doctor to serve as interim director of its Office of the Medical Inspector.

Dr. Gerard Cox, a retired Navy captain who commanded the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in the late 2000s and served as force surgeon for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and 5th Fleet from 2010 to 2012, will temporarily take over the duties of OMI director, responsible for monitoring and investigating Veterans Health Administration hospitals and clinics.

“In response to the revelations by the Office of Special Counsel, we need new leadership and a fresh look from outside of OMI to assist in this transition,” said Sloan Gibson, acting VA secretary. “I expect Dr. Cox to help us restructure OMI to better serve veterans and create a strong internal audit function, which will ensure issues of care quality and patient safety remain at the forefront.”

As part of his efforts to reform OMI, Gibson also announced earlier this week he has suspended the OMI hotline, directing calls and complaints about VHA facilities to the VA Inspector General’s office.

On June 23, the Office of Special Counsel issued a report saying VA OMI officials often accepted problems at facilities as “harmless errors” and did not thoroughly investigate allegations made by whistleblowers.
read more here