Walt Dannenberg became the acting executive director of the Hampton VA Medical Center this week, after a major shake-up prompted by an independent VA Inspector General's report.
“There were clearly multiple layers of leadership failures in responding to many of the concerns that initially started the work, and that's really what the report is about,” said Dr. Julie Kroviak, principal deputy assistant inspector general for healthcare inspections.
The report was prompted by a call to the VA Inspector General hotline. The initial complaints were directed at issues with patient care surrounding the assistant chief of surgery at Hampton, which involved surgery using the hospital’s robotic arm. The Inspector General's office interviewed staff and found that the chief of surgery, chief of staff and the VA director were each unaware of how to properly discipline staff, she said.
“What we understood with the surgical quality issues, the facility was aware of them, but their management, of reviewing, understanding, responding to assessing the quality privileges and competency of the physicians in question were so flawed,” Kroviak said. “They had such a lack of knowledge in the appropriate processes that needed to be carried out to ensure accountability and safe practice. I'm hoping they recognize how dangerous these practices could have been for the front line interactions with patients.”
The July report follows recent Inspector General's reports released in September 2023, involving a delay in diagnosis of a patient with a lung mass, and June 2022 report that found the hospital failed to follow up on a patient diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“The leadership at the top are responsible for ensuring that strength and consistency. There were pretty significant failures in that, and the reasons behind that were as concerning as the failures themselves,” she said.
The former top leaders at the Hampton VA, including Executive Director Dr. Taquisa K. Simmons, have been reassigned to Veteran Integrated Health Services Network 6, which is the regional VA network serving the Mid-Atlantic region. The assistant chief moved on from Hampton to another VA hospital in Harlingen, Texas.
“VA values the OIG review and fully supports its findings. We are taking steps to ensure our Veterans receive the world-class health care they have earned and deserve,” said Terrence Hayes, national VA press secretary, adding several investigations are still ongoing.
Danneberg comes from the VA hospital in Long Beach, Calif. Dr. Maninder Singh has also been appointed acting chief of staff.
