Mayor Benjamin calls on VA Secretary to resolve hospital issues immediately

COLUMBIA, SC – Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin has sent a letter to United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki calling on the Secretary to take immediate action regarding recent allegations of improper care, systemic mismanagement and significant delays in patient care at Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care facilities across the nation including William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center where at least 6 patient deaths have been linked to delayed treatments and screenings. 

 “The kinds of delays and mistreatment we’ve heard about would be troubling for anyone,” said Mayor Benjamin. “For it to happen to men and women who placed themselves in harm’s way to protect our lives and our freedom is absolutely unacceptable.”

“Our heroes deserve better.”

The letter, signed by Mayor Benjamin along with Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto, called on Secretary Shinseki to “personally take the steps necessary to ensure that this type of neglect and abuse of our veterans never happens again.”

In addition, the letter demanded that the Department of Veterans Affairs to share the findings from a recent investigation conducted by the VA Office of Inspector General and that they also be made available to the families of those who have suffered as a result of the VA’s mismanagement.

This is not the first time Mayor Benjamin has expressed his concern with the way veterans are treated in Columbia and across the nation. In 2012 he established the Mayor’s Veterans Committee whose report outlined a series of issues facing the city’s veterans including significant backlogs and wait times for VA claims. In fact, according to the Report of the Mayor’s Veterans Committee, veterans in Columbia are often forced to wait as long as three and a half years before a decision is made on appealed claims.