{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://nolan.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/star-tribune-elected-leaders-meet-with-hibbing-va-workers-over-scheduling", "Star Tribune: Elected leaders meet with Hibbing VA workers over scheduling concerns", "2014-12-01", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Rick Nolan", "N000127", "nolan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan and State Sen. Dave Tomassoni met privately with former employees of a Hibbing Veterans Affairs clinic to hear allegations that the ex-workers were ordered to backdate medical appointment schedules to make it appear that some veterans were being seen far sooner than when the appointments actually took place.\nNolan and Tomassoni, who both represent the area, met privately on Monday for about an hour with three former clinic employees in Mountain Iron, Minn., because they worried they would suffer retaliation for coming forward, Nolan\u2019s office said.\nThe former employees have also complained of a hostile work environment and a policy that they said put profits ahead of care. The clinic is currently being managed by third-party contractor Cincinnati-based Sterling Medical Associates.\nIn a statement, Nolan\u2019s office said the congressman will share their concerns with new VA Secretary Bob McDonald and the VA\u2019s Office of Inspector General, which already has been asked to investigate the claims by the former workers.\n\u201cThese allegations \u2014 that appointments were intentionally backdated, that their work environment has been hostile, and that profits are being put before the well-being of our veterans \u2014 are very troubling,\u201d Nolan said in a statement released by his office after the meeting. \u201cI will leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of this, and to making sure that all our veterans receive the excellent and timely care they have so valiantly earned.\u201d\nSix former workers, including clerks and nurses, have come forward to say they were pressured into manipulating appointments to make it appear veterans were being seen within a 14-day desired date, when, in fact, they were often scheduled six to eight weeks out.\nThe workers said the practice continued until April of this year, when a nationwide VA scheduling scandal came to light.\nThe VA and Sterling both say they welcome the Inspector General probe. Sterling has denied ever ordering workers to backdate appointments.\nAfter the allegations of backdating at the Hibbing clinic were reported in the Star Tribune, Nolan, Sens.\u00a0Al Franken\u00a0and\u00a0Amy Klobucharand Rep. Tim Walz asked VA Acting Inspector General Richard Griffin to look into the charges and report back to them at the earliest possible date.\nA spokesman for the Inspector General\u2019s office said the office does not comment on ongoing investigations.\nLast summer, Nolan held a veterans round table in Hibbing where veterans and family members complained of poor treatment by the Hibbing staff, delays in the approval of non-VA care, and concerns about their consistent access to prescription medications.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://nolan.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/star-tribune-elected-leaders-meet-with-hibbing-va-workers-over-scheduling"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0432719718664885, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}