{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://roby.house.gov/press-release/va-inspector-general-continues-probe-wait-times-misconduct", "VA Inspector General Continues Probe into Wait Times, Misconduct", "2016-09-28", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Martha Roby", "R000591", "roby.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Almost two years after the director of the Central Alabama Vertans Health Care System was fired for mismanagement, an Inspector General probe of paitent wait time manipulation and other misconduct within the system is ongoing.\nU.S. Representative Martha Roby, who recently met with officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, said amid all the positive improvements at CAVHCS, holding bad actors accountable is important.\n\u00a0\u201cThe Inspector General\u2019s Office confirmed that its investigations are still open \u2013 including potential criminal investigations.\u00a0\n\u201cLet me tell you why that\u2019s important: We are finally getting some much-needed improvements, and that\u2019s great. But, the abuses that were allowed for years were unacceptable, and people need to be held accountable so that it never happens again.\u201d\nDuring the VA scandal of 2014, Roby\u00a0worked with whistleblowers and the press to uncover major instances of misconduct, negligence and mismanagement inside the Central Alabama VA, including:\nIn March 2015, Acting Inspector General Richard Griffin told Roby in a hearing that \u201cOur criminal investigative team continues to have open work in Central Alabama.\u201d\nThis week, OIG confirmed to Roby\u2019s office and The Montgomery Advertiser that investigators were \u201cworking as quickly as possible but without sacrificing thoroughness on the wait time issues at Montgomery,\u201d and that the criminal probe remains \u201cpending work.\u201d\u00a0\nRoby said she looked forward to working with Dr. Linda Boyle, who was recently announced as the new, permanent director of the Central Alabama VA. CAVHCS has languished without a permanent director for two years, which is not conducive to improving outcomes, Roby said.\n\u201cAfter two years, this is welcome news. The culture of any organization is set by leadership. I believe no single action is more important toward improving veterans\u2019 healthcare in Central Alabama than having a permanent director in place who is committed to serving veterans and empowered to make the necessary changes.\n\u201cI look forward to meeting Dr. Boyle in person soon and I stand ready to help her be successful.\u201d\nMeanwhile, the Central Alabama VA continues to improve access to care. Average wait times for completed appointments have been cut in half, while Choice referrals to outside providers are up dramatically.\nMuch of the improvement can be can be attributed to the continued recruitment of key health care staff, from nurses and doctors to senior managers. Roby praised the progress but said more is necessary.\n\u201cWe\u2019ve made improvements at the VA. You can see it in the numbers \u2013 the improvement of wait times; you can hear it from veterans who have seen firsthand the improvement in care. But, we have a long way to go. We still have a lot of work to do.\n\u201cFor the office of the Inspector General to continue its investigation to hold accountable those who have done wrong is very important. It\u2019s important that folks know that, whereas we have made some improvements, I\u2019m going to continue to make this a priority so we can get it right.\u201d", 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://roby.house.gov/press-release/va-inspector-general-continues-probe-wait-times-misconduct"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.1479639690369368, "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"}