Veterans Affairs Investigation

In 2018, the VA signed a $10 billion contract with Cerner Corp. for a new electronic health record system, which has caused problems for veterans and staff since launching in Spokane in October 2020.

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News > Military

Northwest Republicans introduce bill to stop VA health record system’s rollout until problems are fixed

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 31, 2023

A group of House Republicans on Tuesday introduced a bill that would halt the Department of Veterans Affairs' rollout of a troubled computer system until it fixes problems that have harmed veterans and strained hospital staff since it was launched in the Inland Northwest in October 2020.

News > Health

Computer problems slow Spokane VA after Defense Department update to electronic health record system

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 24, 2023

WASHINGTON – Spokane’s VA hospital and other medical facilities across the country suffered a major slowdown Monday and part of Tuesday after an update to a troubled electronic health record system caused a “performance degradation,” the Department of Veterans Affairs said Tuesday.

News > Health

Spokane VA has reduced staff despite ongoing effects of troubled computer system as veterans wait longer for care

UPDATED: Tue., Dec. 27, 2022

More than two years after its launch in Spokane, employees at Mann-Grandstaff say the system has exacerbated staffing problems, pushing people like Bank to leave key roles and making hiring more difficult. The hospital’s decreased capacity has left more veterans to seek care in the private sector, which can mean longer wait times and higher costs to the taxpayers who fund VA care.

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S-R’s reporting on flawed VA computer system honored by National Press Foundation

UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 15, 2022

From staff reports

News > Military

VA postpones rollout of computer system tested in Spokane until mid-2023, warns 41,500 veterans it may have delayed care

UPDATED: Thu., Oct. 13, 2022

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday it will postpone the rollout of a troubled computer system it has been testing in Spokane for the past two years and will notify more than 40,000 veterans in the Inland Northwest, Oregon and Ohio that their treatment may have been delayed by problems with the system.

News > Health

VA official pledges budget shortfall related to medical record system won’t result in service cuts in Spokane

UPDATED: Wed., Sept. 28, 2022

WASHINGTON – After the Department of Veterans Affairs admitted a new medical record system has upended the budget of Spokane’s VA hospital, the department’s top health official said Wednesday the issue would not result in cuts to service at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center or other facilities using the system.

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‘One vet harmed is one vet too many’: Amid scrutiny in Congress, Oracle announces it will rebuild VA medical record system being tested in Spokane

UPDATED: Wed., Sept. 21, 2022

WASHINGTON – In a pair of hearings this week, Congress ramped up its scrutiny of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ $10 billion contract with Oracle to modernize veterans’ medical records, as the tech giant promised to revamp the troubled computer system it acquired only months earlier.

News > Military

Charlie Bourg was on the lookout for veterans harmed by a new VA computer system. He didn’t expect to be one of them.

Sun., Sept. 11, 2022

WASHINGTON – Charlie Bourg and Charlie Monroe first met in 2016 when the two veterans started a marathon protest outside Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center that evolved from demanding access to exercise equipment into a catch-all demonstration calling for better treatment for patients and staff.

News > Nation/World

Veterans Secretary Denis McDonough pushes new health benefits, new buildings for vets in talk with Western governors

UPDATED: Wed., July 27, 2022

McDonough was not asked by the eight state executives in attendance at Wednesday's session of the Western Governors Association meeting in Coeur d'Alene about the contentious rollout of an electronic health care records system, first introduced at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane nearly two years ago.

News > Health

VA delays computer system’s launch in Boise as Senate hearing spotlights harm, massive cost increase

UPDATED: Wed., July 20, 2022

WASHINGTON – In a last-minute decision Wednesday, the Department of Veterans Affairs delayed the planned Saturday launch of a troubled computer system in Boise after a watchdog report linked the system to 149 cases of harm at Spokane’s VA hospital.

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VA Medical Center in Spokane
Sat., Dec. 22, 2018