Obama Joins Costello, Durbin and Shimkus to Urge Department of Justice Review of Marion VAMC Investigations
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Printable FormatFor Immediate Release
Contact: Michael Ortiz
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today joined Congressmen Jerry Costello (D-IL) and John Shimkus (R-IL) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) in urging U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to review the findings of several Veterans' Administration (VA) investigations of the Marion VA Medical Center for possible criminal violations. The VA investigations have probed the causes of at least nine deaths in the Marion VAMC surgical unit, as well as claims of worker intimidation and mistreatment by upper management.
"A thorough Justice Department review of the situation at Marion is a necessary step to ensure the employees and the community that there is accountability for what occurred there," said Costello. "Our goal is to restore an environment at Marion that is conducive to the highest quality of patient care for our veterans and where employees feel valued and respected. The culture there has got to change and an outside review of what has happened will help facilitate that change."
"What happened at the Marion VA hospital was tragic and inexcusable. We are now asking the Justice Department to determine whether it was criminal," said Durbin. "In the meantime, Secretary Peake and the VA must continue to move to restore public trust at the Marion VA Medical Center by appointing professional leaders as soon as possible."
"This year's investigations and reports have provided new information about failures in leadership, quality control, and safeguards that led to the unacceptable tragedies at the Marion VA," said Senator Obama. "Given the extraordinary breakdowns that occurred resulting in these deaths, it is important for the Justice Department to investigate to ensure there was no criminal wrongdoing. Our veterans in Illinois and across the United States should expect nothing less than the best health care and treatment, and it's critical that we maintain the highest levels of integrity and accountability at the VA."
"While VA may believe that no criminal charges are warranted, it is only prudent for outside review by the Justice Department to make that determination," stated Shimkus. "The patients, employees, and community deserve this review of past actions by Marion VAMC administrators and doctors."
Earlier this month, VA Secretary Dr. James Peake toured the Marion VAMC and met with employees and held a community town hall meeting. The legislators asked Attorney General Mukasey to respond as soon as possible, but not later than September 30.
The text of the letter is below:
Dear Attorney General Mukasey:
We are writing to request that the Department of Justice review the reports of recent investigations by the Department of Veterans Affairs into deaths at the Marion VA Medical Center to determine if criminal charges are warranted. Several investigations at the facility uncovered incompetent mismanagement and fatally inadequate health care. Investigations by both the Medical Inspector's Office and the Inspector General's Office discovered that substandard healthcare directly resulted in the deaths of at least nine veterans.
We strongly believe these serious circumstances at the facility warrant the DOJ's consideration. In addition, it will provide needed closure to the community affected by these tragic events. We would like to request that all investigations of the facility, including reports from the Administrative Board Investigations, the Medical Inspector's Office, the Inspector General's Office, and the Office of Resource Management, be reviewed. We appreciate your consideration of this very important issue. Please notify us whether you will review the Department of Veterans Affairs' investigations into deaths at the Marion VA Medical Center to determine if criminal charges are warranted. Due to the gravity of this issue, we would appreciate a response as soon as possible, and in no case later than September 30, 2008.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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