Questions for Congressman Brad Miller and General Eric Shinseki: A Thought Experiment

The Provocateur ^ | 10/01/2009 | Mike Volpe

[fiscon1]

Introduction: This is the latest installment in my series about Dr. Anna Chacko. Dr. Chacko is currently the head of radiology at the Pittsburgh VA. She's been at the Pittsburgh VA since October of 2008. Almost immediately, according to sources I spoke to in a position to know, staff at the VA hospital began complaining about her behavior. They described her as tyrannical, a liar, an incompetent, she refused to do required clinical work, she divided the radiology department, and she created an environment of fear. Let me be clear. This is not me saying it, but rather this is her colleagues saying it. In March of 2009, an "investigative board" was formed. This is a mechanism which the VA system uses to discipline doctors and staff. In April of 2009, the investigative board recommended that Dr. Chacko be removed. Dr. Chacko challenged the results. She then reached out to Democratic Congressman Brad Miller of North Carolina. Congressman Miller had investigated the same Pittsburgh VA on a different matter two years prior. On May 15, Congressman Miller wrote a letter to General Shinseki, the head of the VA. Within two to three weeks of that later, my sources tell me that word came down from Shinseki or his office and Dr. Chacko was reinstated. Following a management class, Dr. Chacko came back to work on August 1st of this year. According to my sources, things have gotten even worse since then.