War Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injury Pay the Price of Waste at the VA, Says Dr. Robert...( AUSTIN Texas Nov. 6 /- The follow...),Health

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The following was released today by Dr. Robert Van Boven, M.D., D.D.S.:

A recent report from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG; report no. 08-01105-171) substantiated waste, mismanagement and inaction to disclosures of fraud, waste, sexual harassment and research mismanagement at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS).

Inaction to these serious disclosures constitutes violations of the VA secretary's memo on senior management conduct and performance issues. Misconduct and neglect of duty are also in violation of Statute 5 U.S.C. Moreover, this inaction undermines the integrity of the Department and our commitment to our veterans. Further, the great promise of a new traumatic brain injury treatment research program, the Brain Imaging and Recovery Laboratory (BIRL) at CTVHCS in Austin, Tex., was shattered one day after its inaugural open house, and to date nearly $2.5 million and 2 1/2 years have been wasted. (See http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:696352).

"With estimates of more than 40,000 soldiers returning home with traumatic brain injury, this waste and mismanagement is a disservice to our wounded heroes," said Dr. Robert Van Boven, physician-scientist specializing in TBI research.

The VA OIG report a) substantiated the allegations made by Van Boven of waste and mismanagement; b) confirmed failures of human subjects protections; c) discovered failures of security and privacy compliance; d) found evidence supporting the claim that funded work was scientifically invalid; e) discovered a faulty contract resulting in the waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars; and f) found CTVHCS failed to comply with VA policy in contracting with a contractor. This contractor was also found to have worked without a contract, committed
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