Imagine visiting the VA as a veteran for any reason, and seeing cockroaches running about all over the place. The sight probably wouldn’t sit well with you. Unfortunately for many veterans in Phoenix, Arizona, this was their reality, according to one VA whistleblower. According to the whistleblower, they have video evidence of “cockroaches scurrying around the pharmacy room” at the Veteran Affairs (VA) medical center in Phoenix.
Imagine visiting the VA as a veteran for any reason, and seeing cockroaches running about all over the place. The sight probably wouldn’t sit well with you. Unfortunately for many veterans in Phoenix, Arizona, this was their reality, according to one VA whistleblower. According to the whistleblower, they have video evidence of “cockroaches scurrying around the pharmacy room” at the Veteran Affairs (VA) medical center in Phoenix.
So far the whistleblower has decided to remain anonymous for “fear of retaliation,” though they aren’t shying away from showing the video footage to news organizations in hopes of raising awareness of the problem. And rightly so. Having cockroaches scurrying about in a facility that is supposed to be kept clean and welcoming is simply unacceptable.
So just what did the videos capture? For starters, they show patients trying “to stomp on one of the cockroaches on the pharmacy floor,” while another “shows a roach crawling on a doorway.”
According to some, however, the cockroach problem isn’t new. In an interview with Fox 10 Phoenix, Brandon Coleman, another VA whistleblower, said, “I know they’ve had infestation problems for years.” As for the veteran’s reaction to the particular problem, Coleman said, “They’re used to it. They’re used to substandard care. I think veterans feel lucky just to get an appointment with the secret wait list going on in Phoenix. A roach is no big deal.”
However, the medical center pushed back against the allegations when a spokesman issued the following statement:
“Whenever insects are reported, our environmental management specialists provide immediate action and ensure the external pest control agencies are notified to come on site for complete remediation activities.”
According to the spokesman, recent inspections “did not turn up any cockroaches.”
It’s important to note, however, that the cockroach issue isn’t limited to the medical center in Phoenix. In fact, similar problems have been found at “the Hines VA facility in Chicago.” In that incident, the VA inspector general discovered that “cockroaches had infested the kitchen and were crawling on the food trays and food carts.” In his report, the inspector general revealed that, during an unannounced “site visit on May 10, 2016, we found dead cockroaches on glue traps dispersed throughout the facility’s main kitchen. We observed conditions favorable to pest infestation.” It was also discovered that staff members were aware of the problem, yet nothing was done to exterminate the roaches.
Hopefully, in lieu of doing nothing, staff members at the Phoenix VA medical center take swift action to eradicate the pest problem. Our veterans deserve better.
Sources:
Whistleblower Finds Cockroaches Scurrying Around At Phoenix VA
Join the conversation!