By now, you must have heard, read or somehow become aware of the deceitful practice at some VA Hospitals. A brief synopsis will help put it in perspective. Keep in mind that according to VA policy, patients must be seen by a doctor within 14 days. However, administrators at some VA hospitals came up with a brilliant plan; they invented the indefinite 14-day waiting list, which is a duplicate (unofficial) list that holds names of patients that could be waiting for months to be processed. Every so often, when they feel like it, they would take a name or two from the unofficial list and transfer it to the official one, thus making it look like the hospitals comply with the 14-day waiting period. All patients are processed within the 14-day time period. The deceitful practice has already cost the lives of at least 40 VA patients.

The peculiar aspect of that scandal is that the US Department of Veterans Affairs is aware of the problem and has done nothing to remedy the situation. Strange, isn’t it? What’s the point of having a Department of Veterans Affairs that doesn’t care for veterans? What’s even most troubling is the fact that a retired United States Army four-star general (thus a veteran), Mr. Eric Ken Shinsekii, is at the helm of the department; Mr. Shinsekii is the US secretary of Veterans Affairs. It is quite alarming that someone whose job was to ensure the safety of the soldiers on the battlefield is leaving his men behind to be tortured and killed by indefinite delays and inadequate treatments.

It should not require an act of God, or legislature from Congress or a bulldozer to remove Mr. Eric Shinsekii from his post for he has abandoned his troops. Maybe Mr. Shinsekii should recognize that he is not equipped for the Office Administration battle and ask that the task be done by someone who specializes in that area. As any commander would know, when the battle is being lost, it’s time to retreat and re-evaluate the strategy. Mr. Shinsekii needs to re-evaluate his. The most honorable approach is for Mr. Shinsekii to hand his resignation; he has failed the troops.

Follow Mike Ducheine on Twitter: @mducheiney

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