Legion statement on VA IG's Phoenix report

American Legion National Commander Daniel Dellinger has issued the following statement in reaction to the Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General’s review of the Phoenix VA Health Care System:

“VA’s internal investigation of patient deaths in Phoenix may not have proven conclusively those deaths occurred through negligence, but VA needs to do more than investigate itself on this matter. The American Legion wants a non-VA authority to determine whether negligence was involved in the deaths of those veterans. In fact, we want an independent authority to investigate all the VA facilities where patients died while waiting for medical care.

“Secretary McDonald said at our national convention yesterday that this is a critical time for VA, and we agree. This is a time when fundamental changes can be made in a system wracked by scandal. I met with the Secretary and assured him that The American Legion intends to stand alongside VA to make sure those changes take place.”

 

http://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-14-02603-267.pdf