Termination proceedings begin for VA Director; Roby reacts
Dothan First
Tuesday, October 7, 2014

The proposed termination of Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) Director James Talton is a necessary and important step toward instilling accountability at the VA and building trust within the veteran community, U.S. Representative Martha Roby (R-AL) said Monday.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald announced Monday that he had exercised his newly-codified authority to begin termination proceedings of former CAVHCS Director James Talton. Talton and CAVHCS Chief of Staff Dr. Cliff Robinson had previously been placed on administrative leave with pay. Talton’s termination is among the VA’s first known use of accountability enhancements included in the recent VA reform legislation.

“Numerous instances of misconduct, negligence and cover-up within the Central Alabama VA led to our system becoming one of the nation’s worst,” Rep. Roby said. “Secretary McDonald’s decision to begin termination proceedings for the director who presided over this troubled system is a major step toward instilling accountability at the VA and building trust with Alabama veterans.

“Congress acted to give the VA Secretary special authority to swiftly fire senior managers for misconduct or poor performance, and we have been eager to see him use it. Many have understandably worried that, despite the new law and public outrage, nothing would really change at the VA. Today’s action is a positive sign that the new VA leadership is committed to removing bad actors and improving the healthcare system.”

Rep. Roby thanked the whistleblowers who provided the inside information that led to the exposure of myriad problems within CAVHCS.

“This action would not have been possible without those who, risking their jobs, reached out to let me know what was really happening inside the Central Alabama VA. We have kept their identities confidential and will continue to, but it is the whistleblowers who really deserve the credit for making sure misconduct and mismanagement did not get swept under the rug. I want to thank our brave whistleblowers and the journalists who told their stories.”

In May, the VA’s Office of Inspector General confirmed numerous allegations of rampant abuse and mismanagement at a VA health care facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Rep. Roby said the Phoenix revelations, particularly the scheduling fraud, “sounded familiar” compared to the many complaints she received from veteran constituents.

In June, it was reported that CAVHCS employees had engaged in particularly egregious scheduling manipulation. And, even with the artificially inflated numbers, CAVHCS had some of the longest wait times for veterans patients in the country.

During a meeting to discuss the troubling findings, Talton led Rep. Roby to believe disciplinary action, including the removal of employees, had been taken against those responsible for misconduct within Central Alabama. That was not true, Rep. Roby soon learned by talking with multiple whistleblowers who contacted her office with special knowledge of CAVHCS.

After what she called this “breach of trust,” Rep. Roby and her staff began digging deeper to find out what was really happening inside CAVHCS. She joined with U.S. Senator Richard Shelby to call national attention to the problems within CAVHCS, including disturbing instances of malfeasance and cover-up. Continued exposure of misconduct led to action being taken in late August to place Talton and Robinson on administrative leave and install new leadership.