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Report: Dublin VA improperly closed out 1,500 cases

That happened during a national investigation of wait times at VA hospitals.

The former director of Dublin's VA hospital directed staff to improperly close out more than 1,500 veterans' case files during a national investigation of wait times, a federal report says.
John Goldman, former Dublin VA hospital director (13WMAZ)

Two years ago, staff at the Carl Vinson Veterans Administration Medical Center conducted what they called a "batch closure" of 1,546 cases, the report says.

The goal was to clear out cases that were more than 90 days old.

But they included 648 veterans who'd not received care, the report says.

All that's according to a report filed March 31 by the VA's Inspector General.

That report does not name the Carl Vinson hospital's director.

But John S. Goldman retired as head of the hospital in September 2014, five months after the "batch closure."

Several days later, the VA said they had planned to fire Goldman.

Two years ago, USA Today reported that veterans often waited for months for care at the VA's Phoenix hospital.

After those reports, the VA began investigating wait times at more than 100 hospitals and clinics nationwide.

While that investigation was underway, the VA says, Goldman and his staff agreed that they needed to improve their numbers by eliminating cases that were more than 90 days old.

They agreed to close out more than 1,500 cases that had been referred to outside providers.

The report says an employee at the VA's central office agreed to the "batch closure," but later apologized and said it was wrong.

And when the VA's Quality Management office later raised concerns, the report says, Goldman responded, "We don't think (that office) knows any more than we do, and we don't think they know what they're doing."

When VA investigators visited the hospital in May 2014, the report says, Goldman's staff answered specific questions about wait times and records keeping.

But they didn't mention the batch closure, which had happened the month before, the VA says.

Questioned about that later, the report says, Goldman responded, "I think they were just answering your questions... I don't know why they did not mention it."

The VA report calls that a “lack of candor” by Goldman.

The inspector general's office referred the Dublin case to the VA's Office of Accountability review on Sept. 8, 2014; Goldman's final day at the hospital was two weeks later.

In spring 2014, Dublin hospital officials claimed that, on the average, they saw new patients seeking care within four weeks.

But the VA's own investigation found the actual wait was more than twice that -- 57 days.

The VA's followup audit showed that some Dublin employees reported keeping separate records on appointments, and said they'd been asked to enter incorrect dates.

The VA says Dublin was one of more than 100 hospitals and clinics that were keeping false records on wait times.

When Goldman spoke at a public forum at the hospital in September 2014, he did not address the scandal directly, but blamed problems there on staffing shortages.

The VA said it changed procedures and fired and disciplined dozens of people due to the wait-time scandal.

But USA Today reported this week that, as of March 15, more than 480,000 veterans were waiting more than 30 days for an appointment.

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