DecodeDC Podcast on the Scripps VA Story
When Bill Hatfield showed up at the Cincinnati VA in May of 2015, the Vietnam veteran was in excruciating pain. More than 40 years after lugging heavy artillery around the battlefields of Vietnam, Hatfield’s back was a complete wreck. But he was told there were no neurosurgeons remaining at the Cincinnati VA that could provide him with treatment.
Hatfield’s timing couldn’t have been worse. He showed up at the Cincinnati VA just as the hospital was undergoing major staffing cuts. Entire departments were being shut down, even as the demand for procedures — like neurosurgery — was increasing. Changes that impacted veterans like Hatfield. He was bounced around in phone calls and visits 30 times over 19 months between the VA, private providers and health care administrators before he finally got the care he needed. Follow his journey by clicking on the image below.
On the latest DecodeDC podcast, host Jimmy Williams sits down with Scripps Investigative Reporter Mark Greenblatt about the Scripps-WCPO 6-month long investigation into problems at the Cincinnati VA.
From staffing cuts, to cost shifting, to the hospital’s acting chief of staff prescribing controlled substances to her boss’ wife, issues at the Cincinnati VA are leaving veterans who are trying to seek care in a bureaucratic abyss.
And check out this pair of interactive visualizations that tells the story of Hatfield’s journey:
