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VA REASSIGNS TAMPA HOSPITAL CHIEF --
The move comes as the VA's busiest
hospital tackles numerous problems.
Story here...
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/01/03/
Tampabay/VA_reassigns_hospital.shtml
Story below:
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VA reassigns hospital boss
The move comes as the department’s busiest hospital tackles numerous
problems.
By STEPHEN NOHLGREN
TAMPA — After multiple problems with surgeries and operating room
procedures, the Veterans Affairs Department has removed the director of
its busiest hospital.
Forest Farley Jr., for two years the director of the James A. Haley VA
Medical Center in Tampa, has been reassigned to the regional office in
St. Petersburg, the VA said Wednesday in a brief statement.
VA spokesman John Pickens declined to discuss the reasons for the shift,
and Farley could not be reached.
The reassignment follows nearly a year of internal and congressional
scrutiny of the hospital, which serves more than 400,000 veterans and
contains one of four special treatment centers for soldiers wounded in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Swamped by a burgeoning case-load, Haley managers routinely delayed
operations because surgeons were unavailable, the VA’s inspector general
reported in October.
In 2002, a patient died because of medical error. In August, an outbreak
of flies temporarily closed operating rooms. And consultants brought in
by the VA reported that “The demand for services exceeded the medical
center’s capacity, signaling a rapidly approaching crisis.’’
The inspector general also alleged that Haley had overpaid the
University of South Florida for providing heart surgeons to the VA
hospital.
Haley management had begun to alleviate some of the shortcomings, the
inspector general noted.
Two new operating rooms were being added, bringing the total to 10. A
scheduler also was hired to increase the flow of operations.
Farley, a Vietnam veteran and USF graduate, had previously run the VA
hospital in Lexington, Ky. His new duties at the regional office, based
at Bay Pines, will often focus on construction, the VA statement said.
“His knowledge and experience as a director at two VA medical centers
will be beneficial in working with construction and disaster
preparedness,” according to the statement.
DeWayne Hamlin, Haley’s associate director, was appointed as acting
director, the VA said.
Stephen Nohlgren can be reached at (727) 893-8442 or
nohlgren@sptimes.com.
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Larry Scott
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