Alabama VA whistle-blowers claim retaliation

Mary Troyan and Kala Kachmar, Gannett | USAToday

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Two high-ranking whistle-blowers at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Alabama say they are being punished for disclosing patient care problems that led to the hospital director's firing last year.

Richard Tremaine and Shelia Meuse, top administrators at the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System (CAVHCS) in Montgomery, say they were targeted in an ongoing internal investigation after providing evidence of wrongdoing to a member of Congress and the Montgomery Advertiser newspaper.

Tremaine and Meuse say they've been excluded from management meetings and denied access to information they need to do their jobs, and some of their duties have been reassigned.

"They've cut us out of our responsibilities," Meuse said. "They've watered down our positions."

The two are among VA employees around the country who have uncovered wrongdoing only to suffer retaliation. Congress held another hearing Thursday on ways to strengthen protections for such whistle-blowers.

The federal agency that investigates reprisals against government whistle-blowers has never been busier, since evidence surfaced last year that veterans were waiting months for appointments with VA doctors, and clinics had altered records to hide the long wait times.

"We have seen more cases from the VA over the last year than ever in our history," said Nick Schwellenbach, spokesman for the Office of Special Counsel. Tremaine and Meuse have filed claims with the office.

Allegations of retaliation against whistle-blowers at VA facilities have sparked about 120 investigations by the office, and more than 25 whistle-blowers have won "corrective actions" or settlements.

Veterans Affairs officials in Alabama have said they need more time before responding to the allegations by Tremaine and Meuse.

The two continue to provide evidence that CAVHCS has not resolved some problems involving patient wait times, inadequate staffing levels and mistreatment of veterans.

Tremaine, the associate director at CAVHCS, and Meuse, the assistant director, first expressed concerns internally about 10 months ago, just as the VA wait-time scandal was unfolding nationally.

Soon after, an internal investigation was launched into whether their disclosures had impeded organizational health, employee satisfaction and patient care.

"I think that the (investigation) was a sham," Tremaine said. "It's hard to violate any values when you're standing up and getting attacked for trying to uphold those values. And that's what we did."

Tremaine and Meuse say the retaliation against them has persisted since CAVHCS director James Talton was fired about six months ago for neglect of duty.

"If not for these two individuals, we wouldn't know even a fraction of what we know of the atrocities that were taking place at Central Alabama VA," said Rep. Martha Roby, the Alabama Republican whose district includes Montgomery.

Tremaine, a four-year Air Force veteran, began working for the VA in Denver about 25 years ago, after a procedure at the hospital went wrong and forced the amputation of his leg from the thigh down. He took the position in Montgomery after serving as an associate director in Springfield, Mass.

Meuse, who raised her family in Alabama but worked at VA facilities all over the country, jumped at the opportunity to take a position at CAVHCS near her home in Elmore County.

On Thursday, the House Veterans' Affairs Committee held a hearing on legislation by the committee's chairman, GOP Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida, that would create a new system for reporting retaliation claims and require punishment — including firing — for retaliating against whistle-blowers.

"Numerous federal statutes have been passed to provide added protection to whistle-blowers but many VA supervisors found a way to really circumvent the law," Miller said Thursday. "This bill intends to put an end to the retribution and repercussions."

Meuse, who is retiring at the end of the month, said trying to do the right thing has taken a lot out of her in the past year.

"My loyalty to central Alabama is loyalty to our veterans and the public," she said. "But it's not to preserving a bureaucracy that has not demonstrated its trustworthiness."