Tennessee VA Chief Unsure Why National Audit Flagged His Facilities

Tennessee Valley Health Systems Director Juan Morales addresses reporters Wednesday following the publication of a VA audit this week that flagged the Nashville hospital. Credit: Blake Farmer / WPLN

The head of the VA’s hospitals and clinics in Middle Tennessee says he doesn’t know why internal auditors want to take a second look at the Nashville facility. The agency is reviewing scheduling practices around the country after 18 veterans in Arizona died while waiting for an appointment.

Tennessee Valley Health System Director Juan Morales doesn’t deny that he has some of the longest wait times in the country – more than 70 days on average. But he also says he has no knowledge of schedulers cooking the books as they have elsewhere to lower wait times and trigger bonuses. According to a VA spokesperson, Morales did not receive a performance bonus in 2013.

As for why auditors are returning, Morales told reporters he can only guess.

“You’ve got to remember they came in and did this, each site in one day. Nashville being as complex and a big facility, maybe they needed to spend more time here.”

Nashville’s VA hospital does have some unique charictaristics. It’s one of the only facilities that offers treatments like bone marrow transplants.

Morales says the hospital has already received an additional $15 million to send the backlog of patients to outside clinics and hospitals for treatment. VA doctors in Nashville say they have 123,000 appointments on the books, and currently only a couple thousand are more than a month out.