Veterans’ advocates in Wyoming are upset over reports that staff at the Cheyenne VA Medical Center may have falsified records to make it look like patients were getting appointments faster than they actually were.
Bob DeBernardo is with Veterans of Foreign Wars of Wyoming and receives regular treatment at VA facilities. He says the revelations don’t come as much of a shock.
“The VA has been trying to reach certain goals and in a lot of cases, they don’t have all the tools necessary to do it,” DeBernardo said. “If it’s cutting a corner or fudging numbers, it doesn’t really surprise me too much.”
DeBernardo is also pleased with the effort made by Wyoming lawmakers to hold the Cheyenne VA accountable. Last week, Representative Cynthia Lummis and Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso sent a letter demanding U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki investigate whether faulty record-keeping impacted care for veterans.
“All three of them will try to get to the bottom of this and make sure that the veterans in Wyoming are being served properly and completely,” DeBernardo said.