Finally! Phoenix VA Hospital Director Sharon Helman Fired

Finally! Almost seven months after she was placed on administrative leave  Sharon Helman, director of the Phoenix VA Health Care System found her ass booted out the door.

The VA Healthcare Scandal began with the news of up to 40 veterans dying while waiting for an appointment.

VA Secretary Robert McDonald said Helman's dismissal underscores the agency's commitment to hold leaders accountable and ensure that veterans have access to high-quality, timely care.

An investigation by the VA's office of inspector general found that workers at the Phoenix VA hospital falsified waiting lists while their supervisors looked the other way or even directed it, resulting in chronic delays for veterans seeking care. At least 40 patients died while awaiting appointments in Phoenix, the report said, but officials could not "conclusively assert" that delays in care caused the deaths.

About 1,700 veterans in need of care were "at risk of being lost or forgotten" after being kept off the official waiting list at the troubled Phoenix hospital, the IG's office said.

"Lack of oversight and misconduct by VA leaders runs counter to our mission of serving veterans, and VA will not tolerate it," McDonald said in a statement late Monday. "We depend on VA employees and leaders to put the needs of veterans first."

Helman is the fifth senior executive fired or forced to resign in recent weeks in response to the wait-time scandal.

She should have been ousted months ago.

Helman, who has worked at the VA since 1990, has been on paid leave since May 1, shortly after a former clinic director at the Phoenix site alleged that up to 40 patients may have died because of delays in care and that the hospital kept a secret list of patients waiting for appointments to hide the treatment delays.

Dr. Samuel Foote, who had worked for the Phoenix VA for more than 20 years before retiring last December, brought the allegations to light and says supervisors ignored his complaints for months.

In an interview with the AP in May, hours before being placed on administrative leave, Helman denied any knowledge of a secret list and said she had found no evidence of patient deaths due to delayed care.

Our veterans who have given their bodies to protect our lives and freedoms deserve the best in healthcare,  thanks to people like Ms. Helman they received the worst. Whether she knew or not she is culpable for the horrible mistreatment in America's heroes.