U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) called for an investigation on Tuesday into whistleblower reports of the possibility that waitlists for PTSD treatment contributed to veteran suicides.
Gardner and Johnson requested the investigation in a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Inspector General Michael Missal.
“In early September 2016, our offices received information from a whistleblower connected with the Denver VAMC,” the senators wrote. “The whistleblower expressed concern about the existence of ‘wait lists’ involving patients at the Denver VAMC, as well as the Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Golden, Colorado, VA facilities. The whistleblower raised concerns about a specific situation in which a 26-year old Army Ranger committed suicide while waiting for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder care from the Colorado Springs facility. This whistleblower believes the Colorado Springs facility may have falsified documents after the suicide.”
The senators also noted that the whistleblower reportedly received a memorandum from the VA demanding an appearance for a “fact-finding interview” about an alleged “privacy violation” after making the report.
“In an effort to ensure the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) is fully aware of these issues concerning the Denver VAMC, and based on the whistleblower’s agreement, our staffs are prepared to provide the VA OIG with information received from the whistleblower to allow the VA OIG to aggressively pursue this serious issue,” the senators added.