Durbin encourages staff at VA hospital to talk openly

CHICAGO -- Sen. Dick Durbin asked the Department of Veteran Affairs Friday to remind employees of a southern Illinois hospital under scrutiny for a rise in postoperative deaths of their rights under the Whistleblower Protection Act.

Employees of the VA Hospital in Marion "need to be assured that their openness and honesty about what happened and when and how events unfolded will not be held against them," according to a letter addressed to VA acting Secretary Gordon Mansfield.

At least two surgeons, one with a history of malpractice in another state, are under investigation after the hospital reported a jump in post-surgical deaths.

Ten patients died under the care of Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez during his approximately 20 months at the hospital. He resigned in mid-August, shortly before the hospital suspended inpatient operations. A second surgeon, who hospital officials have declined to name, is also under investigation.

Earlier this week, hospital workers said in a seven-page letter to six senators and the VA that they feared retaliation for speaking publicly about problems at the hospital. The letter, signed "current and former employees," did not include specific names of any employees.

The letter, dated Oct. 30, describes "an environment of fear" for employees. It also claims a doctor who lost his license in another state is currently practicing at the hospital, several medical providers at the hospital have not had their credentials verified and nurses have been ordered to shred important documents.

Before being hired in Illinois, the Bolivia-trained Veizaga-Mendez settled two malpractice lawsuits in Massachusetts, where he eventually surrendered his license. He was also under investigation in Massachusetts on suspicion of malpractice in seven other cases, two of which ended in deaths.

Illinois regulators have indefinitely suspended Veizaga-Mendez's license.

While the hospital is under federal investigation, Durbin has asked VA officials to advise employees of their rights and of retaliation laws.

"A thorough investigation that allows investigators to truly get to the bottom of the situation rests largely on what people who have worked on the hospital can tell us," according to Durbin's letter.

The Marion hospital treats veterans from southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana and western Kentucky.