[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 106 (Monday, June 25, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S4367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              FAYETTEVILLE VETERAN AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER

  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I wish to highlight an incident that 
occurred in my home State of Arkansas that has negatively impacted 
veterans and their families. A former pathologist at the Fayetteville 
VA Medical Center was found to be impaired, was immediately removed 
from clinical care, and has since been terminated. A thorough 
independent review of all cases read by this pathologist is currently 
underway. This review will be handled by entities outside of the 
Fayetteville VA Medical Center to include other VA facilities and 
academic affiliates. At this time, a small percentage of cases have 
been found to be misdiagnosed. In total, 33,000 samples will be 
reviewed using a tiered risk prioritization.
  In response, I have submitted an amendment cosponsored by the entire 
Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma delegation. This amendment would 
require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to the 
congressional committees of jurisdiction a Departmental response plan 
that can be applied in Fayetteville and in all future incidents and for 
recommendations about changes necessary to prevent such incidents in 
the future.
  I am very concerned with the procedures and policies that allowed 
this situation to occur. As the chairman of the Military Construction 
and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee and member of the 
Senate VA Committee, I am intent on working with the VA to ensure that 
we enact policies and put in places procedures to prevent such 
misconduct in the future, both here in Fayetteville and around the 
country. It is clear that our veterans deserve the best care available, 
and it is our duty to ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs is 
providing that service. This is an issue that I will continue to 
monitor, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

                          ____________________