Complaints are surfacing that veterans are being mistreated at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Iowa City. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s been forwarded a half dozen complaints about alleged problems at the VA hospital and he’s now calling for an investigation that focuses on reported staffing issues at the facility.
Grassley says, “We’ve heard problems of bad administration and favoritism, but these come from six people that I legitimately and respectfully call whistleblowers, although until we get into it, we don’t know the legitimacy and accuracy of the complaints.”
Grassley, a Republican, says he routinely gets whistleblower-type complaints about alleged wrongdoing in government agencies, but he adds, rarely do they come from Iowa. He says he’s putting this report about the Iowa City VA through the proper channels.
Grassley says, “I turned it over to the inspector general at the VA and until he gives his report, I won’t know about the legitimacy of it and then, if it is legitimate, what actions will be taken because we will probably rely entirely on the inspector general’s report.”
The complaints say morale at the hospital is terrible and describe the working environment there as “vindictive.” Grassley says the complaints merit a comprehensive investigation to look into what he calls “serious allegations.”
Grassley says, “I think that it’s absolutely necessary for me when you have indications that veterans are not being served the way that they deserve to be served.” The Iowa City VA extends its services to about 185,000 veterans in eastern Iowa and western Illinois.