AUGUST 9, 2015 |
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"Philly VA
Whistleblower Update" |
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with Kristen Ruell & Ken Crandall |
HOUR 1 |
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HOUR 2 |
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Today we will be updating the Philly VA scandal with three
whistleblowers from that facility. We've done some previous shows on
veteran issues that you might enjoy:
CLICK TO VIEW
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Double Payments Bedevil Veterans’ Pension System |
By
JAMES DAO SEPT. 22, 2012
PHILADELPHIA — In July 2010, a
Department of Veterans Affairs employee named Kristen Ruell was
updating a benefit claim when she noticed something odd. What should
have been an increase of about $2,000 in a monthly payment to the
widow of a veteran showed up on her computer screen as $21,000.
Puzzled, she set the claim aside and began digging into computer
files for an answer. What she found surprised and worried her: the
department’s database contained duplicate records for the widow, and
the system was trying to pay her twice. It was also recommending a
retroactive payment dating back months — though the widow had
already been paid for that period.
After seeing the same problem in other claims, Ms. Ruell, who works
on a quality review team at a veterans pension management center in
Philadelphia, says she raised red flags with her bosses. If she, one
of scores of payment authorizers nationwide, was just noticing the
duplicate payments, was it not likely that the department had
inadvertently overpaid many other people for years? |
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Ryan Cease, left, Kristen Ruell and Ken
Crandall are among the workers who have raised questions about
duplicate payments in the Department of Veterans Affairs pension
system. Credit Jessica Kourkounis for The New York Times
Two years later, that concern has not been resolved, Ms. Ruell and
several other pension management workers say.
CLICK HERE to read more
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/us/duplicate-payments-bedevil-va-pension-system-workers-say.html?_r=0
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Philadelphia and Oakland: |
Systemic Failures and Mismanagement |
Apr 22, 2015 |
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Interesting to note that Dianna Rubens is now
the Director of this facility. She was compensated some $300,000+ to
relocate from DC to Philly and you can hear all about that in the
testimony. Chairman Miller fires some very pointed questions in Part
1 of the video above starting at 2:49 (2 hrs 49 min). |
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Rhetoric v. Reality: Investigating the Continued Failures of the
Philadelphia VA Regional Office | Oct 3, 2014 |
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Evaluation of the Process to Achieve VBA Goals |
Jul 14, 2014 |
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This
is a picture of Ken Crandall's desk after 3 months on the job!!!!
These were all veterans returning from Iraq who had very complex
claims. By setting him up with cases well beyond his ability the
veteran was cheated and Ken consistently received poor reviews. Note
the folders (called volumes) banded together. Those are complex
cases. |
Is A Manager At Philadelphia VA Threatening
Whistleblowers Over Twitter? |
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@lina_g148 appears to match the name of Lina
Giampa, the Philly VA human resources manager. |
And ... pesky public records suggest that her
house number is 148. |
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Yikes @lina_g148
Twitter slogan says "I hate stupid people"
and, well, ahem, uh, gee that is awkward. Thank goodness it has
since been changed! |
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Were
nasty tweets aimed at VA whistle blowers? - Philly.com
www.philly.com/ philly/ news/ 201507...
Proxy
Highlight
Jul 15, 2015 ... The first tweets were posted on the same day last
year that ... A spokeswoman from the Philadelphia VA benefits office
did not respond to an ...
Is A Manager At Philadephia VA Threatening Whistleblowers?
The
www.dailycaller.com/ 2015/ 07/ 17/ is-a-manager...
Proxy
Highlight
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Jul 17, 2015 ... On the same day
investigators arrived at the Philadelphia VA regional office, a
manager reportedly tweeted out threatening messages to ... |
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Manager removed at Philly VA after IG audit slams facility -
Veterans ... |
www.stripes.com/ news/ veterans/ manager-removed-a...
Proxy
Highlight |
Apr 18, 2015 ... A Philadelphia VA office kept veterans waiting for
months to get ... Details from the IG report on Philadelphia VA ...
Twitter: @Travis_Tritten ... |
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Philadelphia VA facing inquiry of its management - Washington Times |
www.washingtontimes.com/ news/ 2015/ mar/ 23/ p...
Proxy
Highlight |
Mar 23, 2015 ... New VA scandal brewing in Philadelphia ... The
union local representing workers in the Philadelphia VA office
alerted ..... Find us on Twitter. |
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Philadelphia VA announces benefits office probe - The News Journal |
www.delawareonline.com/ story/ news/ nation...
Proxy
Highlight |
Mar 25, 2015 ... VA Inspector General report on
claims mismanagement due in early April. ... 13 CONNECT 9
TWEETLINKEDIN 1 COMMENTEMAILMORE ... at its Philadelphia benefits
center despite the imminent release of a VA Inspector ... |
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Carney: Philly VA benefits office has `poor management' |
www.delawareonline.com/ story/ delawaredefens...
Proxy
Highlight |
Jun 15, 2015 ... John Carney ripped into the troubled Philadelphia
VA Regional Office ... 112 CONNECT 5 TWEET 1 LINKEDIN 5
COMMENTEMAILMORE. Rep |
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Government audit faults Philly VA
official's psychic party |
Government
audit faults Philly VA official's psychic party | Pittsburgh ...
www.post-gazette.com/ news/ health/ 2015/ 05... Proxy Highlight
May 28, 2015 ... A ranking manager of the Philadelphia Veterans
Affairs benefits office misused her position by hosting a party
where her employees were ...
Psychic medium party cited in removal of VA
managers - Philly.com
www.philly.com/ philly/ news/ 201506... Proxy Highlight
Jun 1, 2015 ... The VA said Philadelphia Veterans Affairs employees
Lucy Filipov (left) and Gary Hodge have been "temporarily relieved"
while it investigates |
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www.philly.com/
philly/ news/ 201505...
Proxy Highlight |
May 28, 2015
... Each met privately with the medium, who held a crystal and said
a ... addresses a press conference at the Philadelphia VA Hospital
on Sept. |
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www.usatoday.com/ story/ news/ 2015/ 06/ 01/ ...
Proxy Highlight |
Jun 1, 2015
... The VA said Monday it had temporarily suspended two of its
officials ... manager at the Philadelphia office, whose wife
provided the psychic ... |
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Audit finds improper behavior
at Philadelphia VA facility - The ... |
www.mcall.com/ news/ nationworld/ pennsylva
Proxy Highlight |
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Two Philadelphia VA Morons
Suspended Yesterday |
www.disabledveterans.org/ 2015/ 06/ 02/ two-phil...
Proxy Highlight |
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VA OIG Calls Out Fraud And
Abuse At Philadelphia VA |
www.disabledveterans.org/ 2015/ 05/ 29/ va
Proxy Highlight |
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READ ONLINE COMMENTS FOR THIS INCIDENT HERE:
http://articles.philly.com/2015-06-03/news/62968856_1_inspector-general-va-managers-april-report |
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Congressman: Philly VA leaders wanted to monitor his staff on
unannounced |
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140716_Congressman__Philly_VA_leaders_ |
wanted_to_bug__ignore_his_staff_on_an_unannounced_visit.html# |
lpgASjVH2Q5ORQuI.99 |
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Congressional staff on an unannounced visit to
the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs regional office July 2 were given
work space in a room wired with an active microphone and camera,
according to the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans
Affairs.
During the same visit - made to investigate claims of mismanagement
at the Germantown facility - one congressional staffer saw and
snapped a picture of a note containing an offensive description of a
woman on her team.
Rep. Jeff Miller (R., Fla.) said the note was written by the
office's then-acting director, Lucy Filipov, the same administrator
who directed the team to the wired room.
"Congressional staff has a constitutional responsibility to
unfettered access to files, and there should be no reason that
anybody would monitor their discussions," Miller said Tuesday,
reiterating criticism he lodged during a contentious hearing of the
House committee Monday night in Washington.
That hearing brought forward new details in the ongoing
investigation of data manipulation at the city's VA office, which
oversees benefits for 825,000 veterans in Pennsylvania, Delaware,
and New Jersey and also houses one of the country's three pension
management centers.
Details of the July 2 visit in Philadelphia, aired as the
more-than-five-hour hearing stretched into the night, seemed to
inflame existing tensions between some committee members and VA
leadership.
A few lawmakers called for Diana Rubens, the director of the
Philadelphia center, to be fired.
Monday was her first official day on the job.
Allison Hickey, the VA undersecretary for benefits, did not offer
her own interpretation of Filipov's note.
"I will just tell you without question it is unacceptable," she said
at the hearing. "And I offer on behalf of the department my sincere
apologies to your staff who experienced that that day and my
commitment that it will not happen again."
Walinda West, deputy director for media relations for the VA, said
there was no intention to monitor or record the staffers'
activities. She deferred further comment on that and the other
issues to the statements made by Rubens and Hickey during Monday's
hearing.
Attempts to reach Rubens and Hickey on Tuesday through VA
spokespeople were unsuccessful.
Touring the office
Miller said he asked his staff to visit the city's VA center July 2
to spend a day reviewing files, meeting with employees, and touring
the office. The team notified administrators they were coming about
9 a.m., then arrived about 20 minutes later, he said.
As they waited in a conference room for an administrator to greet
them, one staffer got up to use the restroom, Miller said. Near the
bathroom's sinks, the staffer found a yellow spiral notebook with
the words "ask ignore Rory" - referencing the committee's staff
director, Rory Riley - scribbled half way down the page.
Miller said the notebook belonged to Filipov, now the center's
assistant director, who met with the congressional staff moments
later. Filipov wrote the notes during an earlier conversation that
morning with Rubens, who at the time was the Veterans Benefits
Administration undersecretary for field operations.
Miller believes Rubens instructed Filipov to ignore his team's
requests for information.
"The acting director was in possession of a note upon which was
written ignore my staff. Am I surprised? No. Actually I'm shocked,"
Miller said at Monday's hearing.
The note also included two comments beside Riley's name: "arrogance"
and "stick up her ass."
At the top of the paper were written and circled the last names of
two whistle-blowers from the Philadelphia office, Ryan Cease and
Kristen Ruell.
Ruell was one of three whistle-blowers who testified at Monday's
hearing, where she voiced concerns including veterans being paid
twice and dates being changed so old claims appear new.
On Tuesday, Ruell said she thought her name was included because
Rubens believed she was responsible for the staffers' visit. But
Ruell said she did not ask them to come.
"Any time anything negative happens at the office they just assume
it's me," said Ruell, who has criticized management at her office
before. "It proves the Whistleblower Act is a joke."
At the hearing, Rubens said she had told Filipov that the
congressional staff might want to meet with the whistle-blowers. She
said that while she did not know their names, Filipov did, and wrote
them down on her notepad.
Miller said that after the staffers met with Filipov, she said they
could work that day in a room on the third floor that is often used
for hearings and teleconferencing. While another administrator said
they could stay in the room they were in, Filipov insisted three
times that they move to the other space, Miller said.
A different room
On Tuesday, he said that once in that room, the staff saw two
microphones by a telephone and a camera on top of a television - all
with lights indicating they were on.
He said the staffers asked to be moved to another space, and they
were.
Rubens officially became the director of the Philadelphia regional
office Monday and has been transitioning into that position since
early June. While some members of the congressional staff called for
her to be fired because of Filipov's note, at least one member
disagreed.
Rep. Corrine Brown (D., Fla.) said it was inappropriate for the
staffer to read the notepad in the first place.
"I hope no one ever loses their job for a note in the bathroom on a
pad," she said. |
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These are notes about Chairman Miller's staff
dictacted by Diana Rubens (VA Undersecretary staff in DC) to Lucy
Filipov (Philly VA Acting Director). Note the name of whistleblowers
"Ryan Cease and Kristen Ruell" circled at the top of the page.
These notes were left on the women's bathroom sink by Ms. Filipov
the day of the inspection. One of Chairman Miller's staff who is
characterized below in such unflattering terms that the committee
whited out the actual wording came into the restroom, saw the notes
and took a photo of them. This copy was given to all members of
congress on the committee and projected on the wall as an exibit at
the hearing during the questioning of Undersecretary Allison Hickey
and Diana Rubens.
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http://wethepeopleradiorecords.com/20150809/2013-05-20_Fast_Letter_13-10.pdf |
VA ‘Oscar the Grouch’
training angers vets |
By Tricia L. Nadolny, Inquirer Staff
Writer
Posted: August 28, 2014
http://articles.philly.com/2014-08-28/news/53290072_1_va-office-veterans-affairs-philadelphia-va
The beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs depicted dissatisfied
veterans as Oscar the Grouch in a recent internal training guide,
and some vets and VA staffers said Tuesday that they feel trashed.
The cranky Sesame Street character who lives in a garbage can was
used in reference to veterans who will attend town-hall events
Wednesday in Philadelphia.
"There is no time or place to make light of the current crisis that
the VA is in," said Joe Davis, a national spokesman for the VFW.
"And especially to insult the VA's primary customer."
The 18-page slide show on how to help veterans with their claims,
presented to VA employees Friday and obtained by The Inquirer, also
says veterans might be demanding and unrealistic and tells VA
staffers to apologize for the "perception" of the agency.
The spokeswoman from the Philadelphia VA benefits office - which
will host the town halls Wednesday at noon and 6:30 p.m. - said in a
statement that the agency regretted any misunderstanding caused by
the slide show.
"The training provided was not intended to equate veterans with this
character," spokeswoman Marisa Prugsawan said. "It was intended to
remind our employees to conduct themselves as courteously and
professionally as possible when dealing with veterans and their
concerns."
She said the guide appeared to be an old internal document from
which employees at the Philadelphia office pulled information ahead
of Friday's training. Prugsawan said she was unsure if the original
slide show comparing veterans to Oscar had been created locally or
by the national VA office and sent to regional centers.
Whatever its origin, Davis said, the impact is clear. He said the
reference "slams the door" on the agency's efforts to repair its
relationship with veterans.
Regaining that trust - which has been damaged by the national
scandal over substandard service - is the main goal of the
town-hall-style meetings being held at every VA hospital and
benefits office around the country at the direction of Robert
McDonald, the new VA secretary.
In Philadelphia, the VA benefits office in Germantown and the VA
hospital in University City have been embroiled in the controversy.
Both are under investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General
over allegations that staff deliberately masked delays on claims or
appointments.
In addition to being an open forum for veterans and their family
members, Wednesday's events will include a clinic for claimants to
seek help on their cases.
The slide show, "What to Say to Oscar the Grouch - Dealing with
Veterans During Town Hall Claims Clinics," was shown to employees
who will staff those events.
Most slides touch on routine instructions, including dressing
professionally, being polite, showing empathy, and maintaining eye
contact.
But the "grouch" theme is maintained throughout.
About a dozen slides include pictures of the misanthropic Muppet in
the can he calls home. In one, a sign reading "CRANKY" hangs from
the rim. In another, Oscar's face is flanked by the words "100%
GROUCHY, DEAL WITH IT."
The presentation includes tips on how to tell if a claimant is
nearing an "outburst," including being accusatory, agitated,
demanding, or unfocused. One section on dealing with angry claimants
is titled "Don't Get in the Swamp With the Alligator."
If the stress of dealing with angry claimants is overwhelming, the
employees are instructed to take a break. In addition to the slide
show, employees received a handout on coping with stress and a
four-minute relaxation technique.
Christian DeJohn, 45, a VA employee who attended the training, said
the content stunned him. DeJohn, an Army veteran who served in
Bosnia, said the message seemed to be that veterans are irritable
and potentially dangerous.
"For a long time, there was a stereotype of Vietnam veterans, that
they're mentally unstable and violent, bitter, angry, resentful," he
said. "I feel like this is perpetuating some of the worst
stereotypes of veterans."
Another veteran and VA employee, who attended the training but asked
to not be named because, he said, he feared reprisal, said he
understood why some people might have been offended, but that he was
not. He said that one of the pictures of Oscar was on a slide that
told employees to keep their desks clean, and he said some of the
content was useful.
"It was telling us how to talk to people," he said. "You're going to
have people who are going to be really upset because their claims
haven't been processed."
Several other employees who attended the training did not respond to
requests for comment. On Tuesday morning, staff at the office
received an e-mail, obtained by The Inquirer, advising them to "not
respond directly to any media inquiries."
Most of the town-hall meetings ordered by McDonald will be held in
the coming weeks. At the few that have already taken place,
discussions have at times turned heated, according to news reports.
At others, the tone has seemed cooperative and the content mostly
informational.
David Gai, the national communications director for AMVETS, a
service organization, said the suggestion that some veterans who
attend the events will be grouchy is a small example of a wider
issue at the VA: Employees don't understand veterans.
"They're being trained in the procedures and not necessarily the
nuances of where the veteran is coming from," he said. "That
cultural awareness is sometimes a hard gap to fill."
Davis also said the training guide was representative of a cultural
problem. He said most employees would not make light of veterans'
concerns.
"But there are some people at the VA who forgot who their ultimate
boss is," he said. "And that's the veteran." |
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tnadolny@phillynews.com |
610-313-8205 @TriciaNadolny |
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