Switching Adversaries: From the VC to the VA?

Switching Adversaries: From the VC to the VA?

*printed as Letter to the Editor, Bitterroot Star, 08.13.2014

At this time, a large segment of the general public has been made aware of the corrosive culture, scandalous practices, and abuses of authority which are rampant within the Veterans Health Administration, and how this bureaucracy has become the disgrace of the nation. However, there are issues within the VHA which you may only be knowledgeable about if you are a veteran dependent upon this organization for your medical care. The purpose of this letter is to unmask one of the most insidious units, and their role, which has managed somehow to evade the current media limelight: Disruptive Behavior Committees.
Comprised of secret committees charged with policing veteran’s behavior, these DBC units act upon allegations ( denunciations ) of “disruptive behavior incidents” reported by anonymous VA Staff members: there are no specific guidelines as to what constitutes disruptive behavior, so it is entirely subjective in nature. Anyone employed by the VA may present these denunciations, from phone intake personnel and janitorial workers, to nurses and doctors and other medical staff.
Once these denunciations are received by the secret DBC unit, circumstances of the incident are reviewed and the DBC renders a judgment. There is no due process provided the accused veteran; i.e., no opportunity to face one’s accusers and defend oneself in an open hearing. The DBC may choose to impose any of an ascendingly severe host of punishing restrictions; they run the gamut from a slap on the wrist warning to the more severe: having one’s medical records “red-flagged” (called a PRF within the system). If a veteran receives a PRF, they may find their access to health services increasingly restricted, to the point of de facto denial of care or treatment. They may be forced to check in with the VA Police anytime they step foot on the grounds of a VA medical facility, and in some cases, they may be required to be accompanied by a police officer the entire time they are on VA property.
Secret committees of “behavior police” (therefore, ‘secret police’?) act upon anonymous informant’s denunciations, with no due process or ability for the accused to defend themselves. Does this sound vaguely familiar? How many reading this recall East Germany’s so-called ‘Sword & Shield’ Stasi police? ‘Informants’ often fabricated denunciations for personal advantage: seeking revenge on someone they had a conflict with, or perhaps simply eliminating someone who posed some form of competition to them (for a girl, for a job, etc.). The Stasi then reacted by imposing draconian punishments, humiliation, and intimidation upon those accused, who often had zero chance to defend themselves, and were often not even present at any adjudications.
So, let’s review: secret committees. Bullying. Retaliation. Secret “waiting” lists. Covering-up veterans deaths. Intimidation tactics. Judgments rendered with punishing consequences, without so much as a hearing. Intentionally withholding or delaying medical care and treatment, where veterans suffered, and died, as a direct result. Apparent indifference with no sign of accountability on the part of the Veterans Health Administration.
Where is the outrage, where is the dissent, where is the unified voice of the dishonored veterans protesting such police state tyranny and treatment from an organization whose mission is not to police, but to provide medical care and services?
In the present climate permeating the corrosive culture of the VHA, these secretive DBC committees operating behind closed doors should be immediately disbanded or suspended. It is my belief that there is a direct correlation between the restricted access to health care these committees impose, and the delays ( and in an uncertain number of cases, resultant deaths) the VHA is now notoriously known for: how many of the veterans who died waiting care that never came were ‘red-flagged’?
Secret police units like this are unquestionably prone to abuses of power; it is criminal that the DBC’s have not been properly exposed to date, and even worse that they are permitted to continue to operate.
As if it were not bad enough that Disruptive Behavior Committees are acting with impunity to punish what they decide to be inappropriate behavior by veterans, DBC authority is also being used as a tool with which to bully and retaliate against veterans who dare to complain about their care (or lack of it); in fact, any actions the VA may deem as ‘non-compliant’ will result in greater restrictions to receiving health care. Heaven forbid a veteran have the temerity to bring a civil suit or malpractice case against the VA: this will insure the veteran’s medical records are fast-tracked to be flagged.
This is nothing short of tyranny, and it is indefensible that a secret unit with unheard-of sweeping powers, and such rampant abuse of these powers, continue to operate under the aegis of the Veterans Health Administration.
For the VHA to regain credibility, DBC committees must be completely reformed. Group members cannot remain anonymous, nor can the informants or accusers bringing claims against a veteran enjoy such anonymity. The entire process needs transparency, and to reflect respect of the rights and interests of the individual veterans involved. The secrecy must end as it invites injustice and further abuse. A veteran’s right to due process and hearings needs to be re-established before any judgments are rendered, and subsequent rights to appeal should be an acknowledged part of the process.
When I was 20 years old, I spent two years of my life with the VC as my enemies and adversaries. Now that I am 67, I find it sadly ironic that my adversaries have become the VA, the very organization upon which I am dependent for health services, medical care, and a modicum of compassion.
Boonieman