BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Veterans Affairs national leaders came to Buffalo Monday where they toured the Buffalo VA Medical Center and met with health care providers.
It comes days after a scathing new report from the VA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) outlining alleged “mismanaged” and scheduling delays of more than 40 VA patients that resulted in patient harm.
You can watch our previous report below and read more here.
“I think that's deplorable, and it is a slap in the face to the veterans who have served this country,” declared Dr. Patrick Welch, veteran.
I camped outside the VA all day and spoke with Welch who was inside that meeting.
“The immediate next step is for us veterans to keep the pressure up on this administration to do what they said they're going to do,” Welch replied.
Welch is a Vietnam Veteran who has been going to the VA hospital in Buffalo since 1966. He attended Monday’s meeting with the VA Under Secretary for Healthcare of the VA hospital to address a scathing report finding multiple veterans who came here for treatment-experienced significant delays.
“I think it's got to do with management and training. I don't think the community care manager that is no longer in that position knew how critical their position was, when they prior, when they set up a committee and a process to prioritize care and treatment, and the response from that person is, oh, I just didn't have time,” remarked Welch.
Back in August, both the Buffalo’s VA director and chief of staff were released from their duties pending the investigation.
"At the end of the day it comes down to leadership at the top,” stated Congressman Tim Kennedy.
"The ultimate leadership at this hospital must be held accountable,” Congressman Nick Langworthy commented.
Last Friday, Langworthy and Kennedy responded to the report.
“There was a cancer patient that died after radiation therapy was never scheduled. Another cancer patient faced a nine-week delay for a vital treatment,” noted Langworthy.
“One person died waiting for cancer treatment, correct? “ I asked.
“Correct, and many of my fellow veterans that were here today expressed similar situations, not that have caused death yet, but for veterans that have had cancer issues, that have been bounced back and forth in treatment,” responded Welch.
Langworthy and Kennedy issued a bipartisan joint statement Monday following the Monday meeting:
"We want to thank Undersecretary Shereef Elnahal for meeting with us today and prioritizing the necessary changes at the Buffalo VA to ensure our heroes receive the care they deserve," stated the lawmakers. "We have full confidence in his commitment to accountability and transparency as we work together to restore trust and prevent failures like this from ever happening again. We're already seeing meaningful improvements, and through continued congressional oversight, we'll guarantee these changes are fully implemented and that veterans always come first. Throughout this process, the hardworking medical staff at the Buffalo VA and their community partners have continued to show their dedication to our veterans—they deserve a new state-of-the-art facility and strong leadership that can help them fulfill our promise of world-class care for our veterans."
Congressman Tim Kennedy (D)
Congressman Nick Langworthy (R)
Welch told me steps are already being taken to change patient treatment and he and other veterans will be able to make sure progress is made.
“The first thing I want to say is that I love the VA, and many of my contemporaries love the VA also, but we are also looking at things that need to be fixed, and I think the meeting today with Dr. Elnahal was a very good meeting. We got a good response. We got a good response from the acting director of the VA Hospital,” Welch explained.
Welch told me he was pleased with the outcome of Monday’s meeting.
“They established February 2025 as the date of three of the things that they have to be employed, be fully implemented, so we'll see what happens,” Welch said. “I'm very encouraged by what I heard, and I hope that I will continue to monitor the things that they said they were going to do.”
