VA Secretary: Agency Providing Better Care Than Ever
During a congressional hearing on Thursday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald rebuffed charges that he had not fired enough employees for the scandal over veterans' health care and outlined his plan for the VA "to become the No. 1 customer-service agency in the government." In other Capitol Hill news, a Senate report finds that hospitals did not properly report outbreaks associated to dirty scopes.
The Associated Press:
VA Chief To Congress: You Can’t Fire Your Way To Excellence
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald on Thursday disputed claims by members of Congress that his scandal-plagued agency hasn’t dismissed enough employees, saying, “You can’t fire your way to excellence.” McDonald told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee that he and other top leaders are turning the VA around, “providing more and better care than ever before” and holding employees accountable, including firing about 2,600 workers since he took office 18 months ago. (Daly, 1/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Hospitals Failed To Report Outbreaks Linked To Tainted Scopes, Senate Report Says
A Senate investigation of deadly infections spread by contaminated scopes found that not one of the 16 or more American hospitals where patients were sickened appeared to have properly filed the required federal report. A Senate report titled "Preventable Tragedies" said the hospitals' failure to properly report the outbreaks left the Food and Drug Administration "with an inaccurate picture of the frequency and severity" of the outbreaks. (Petersen, 1/22)
