Two Top Officials at Buffalo VA Hospital Reassigned Pending Investigation into Treatment Delays

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has reassigned two top executives at the VA hospital in Buffalo after hearing complaints that local veterans experienced delays in receiving critical treatments.

“Upon learning of concerns raised by clinicians about local leadership and instances of delayed care, VA immediately transferred the medical center director and the chief of staff out of clinical- and Veteran-facing positions pending the results of an investigation,” VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said in a statement Wednesday morning.

Because the investigation is ongoing, the VA said it could not comment about whether Michael J. Swartz, executive director of the VA Western New York Healthcare System, or Chief of Staff Dr. Philippe Jaoude could return to those roles depending on what the probe finds.

Shawn De Fries, associate director of VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System, which includes the Canandaigua VA Medical Center, has been named the interim medical center director in Buffalo. VA Western New York Healthcare System serves roughly 2,000 patients a day and employs about 2,250 people.

News of the leadership changes came not long after U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy sent a letter Tuesday to VA Secretary Denis R. McDonough. In the letter, Langworthy said it had come to his attention that the VA had informed the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs that the Buffalo VA Medical Center had “likely mismanaged oncology referrals made to the community.”

Michael Swartz, executive director of the VA Western New York Healthcare System, has been transferred out of that position, pending an investigation.

“Specifically, VA has reported that due to the medical center’s mismanagement, veterans may not have received treatment as fast as they should have,” wrote Langworthy, a conservative Republican who represents outlying parts of Erie County, as well as the Southern Tier.

Langworthy implored the VA to conduct a thorough and transparent review of the situation and to cooperate fully with the House Committee’s investigation. Langworthy said he would “closely monitor the situation and continue to press for accountability to guarantee that no veteran’s health is compromised due to administrative failures.”

“This situation is deeply concerning,” Langworthy wrote. “The potential mismanagement of oncology referrals raises serious questions about the Buffalo VA Medical Center’s adherence to established protocols and its overall commitment to the well-being of its patients.”

In his statement, Hayes said the VA “proactively informed Congress of this matter,” and will continue to keep lawmakers and local veterans informed on the issues.

“Providing veterans with the world-class care they deserve when and where they need it is our top priority, and VA has taken immediate steps to ensure the health care needs of veterans are being met,” Hayes said.

“VA is committed to providing veterans timely, quality health care – we will never settle for anything less, and we will continue to hold our employees accountable to the highest standards of care and services,” he added. “Because the investigation is ongoing, we cannot comment further at this time.”

U.S. Rep. Tim Kennedy, a Democrat, issued a statement Wednesday afternoon, calling it "unacceptable for veterans to receive delayed care due to administrative failures."

"As a member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I am committed to providing oversight to ensure that these heroes receive the care they have earned and deserve," Kennedy said. "My Congressional colleagues and I will be monitoring the outcome of the investigation and taking appropriate action where needed."

The union that represents more than 400 nurses at the Buffalo VA Medical Center had previously raised concerns about the facility’s local leadership, though those issues revolved around staffing, rather than referrals for cancer care. However, staffing levels can have a significant effect on how long patients wait for care.

As union criticizes blizzard staffing plan, Buffalo VA says 'there is no shortage of nurses' at its hospital

Union nurses at the Buffalo VA Medical Center on Tuesday blasted what they said was the administration's failure to prepare for the deadly holiday storm with a proper staffing plan, noting it's emblematic of a larger, and ongoing, problem: VA administrators who are not listening to their concerns about a chronic worker crunch.

Several nurses, represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United, in January 2023 blasted what they said was the Buffalo VA Medical Center administration’s failure to prepare for the deadly 2022 Christmas weekend blizzard with a proper staffing plan. They said it was emblematic of a larger problem of VA administrators who were not listening to their concerns about a chronic staffing crunch.

An Office of Inspector General report on VA occupational staffing shortages, released this month, found the VA Western New York Healthcare System had 12 clinical occupation titles with shortages and seven nonclinical titles with shortages. With 19 titles designated as in a “severe shortage,” the VA Western New York Healthcare System was roughly in line with the VA systems in Syracuse (21 titles in shortage), in the Finger Lakes (25 titles) and in Albany (25 titles).

Nurses at the Buffalo VA are planning to hold a protest at noon Friday outside the Bailey Avenue hospital to discuss the VA’s hiring freeze.

The leadership change and investigation also comes as the VA Western New York Healthcare System is renovating its 75-year-old campus on Bailey Avenue, with many projects geared toward modernizing and improving the patient experience.

With plans for new downtown hospital 'off the table' for now, VA is revamping its aging Buffalo medical center

The VA could still one day build a new Buffalo hospital – but that is something that would be "probably 20 to 25 years down the road."

While a new Buffalo VA Medical Center could one day be built, such a project is “probably 20 to 25 years down the road,” Swartz told The Buffalo News earlier this year.

So, the VA has more than $64 million worth of projects in active construction on the 1.1 million-square-foot Bailey Avenue campus, and another $3.1 million in projects ongoing at the Batavia VA Medical Center.

Tens of millions of dollars more in spending is projected at the VA Western New York Healthcare System over the next five to 10 years.

The VA also is securing a lease to relocate its research program from its research facility in Building 20 on the Bailey Avenue campus to an off-campus space that is more modern. Building 20, which was built in the 1990s and is connected to the main hospital, will then be expanded and repurposed to house surgical and critical care operations.

“We will renovate what we can here,” Swartz said, “and I think Building 20 gives us a great opportunity to expand the footprint to meet the needs of modern health care.”

But Swartz may no longer be the local leader leading those expansions.

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