"When even one American -- who has done nothing wrong -- is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all Americans are in peril." Harry S. Truman
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell -
See, December 18, 2006, radio broadcast from New York City Radio Station WBAI 99.5 FM, Expert Witness Radio (www.expertwitnessradio.org), at 5:00PM-6:00PM EST. Join Mark Marshall, Mike Levine, and Dr. Jeffrey Fudin to hear some of the atrocities that have occurred at the Stratton VA in Albany NY, the lack of support and investigation by government agencies, and the travesties that have befallen a number of veterans as a result. Alternatively, you may download (or directly upload) an mp-3 file by right clicking this link, VA Horrors.
Welcome to Dr. Fudin's website! He has dedicated this site to family and friends, and those veterans that served and continue to serve in the United States Military. The new design was inspired by FBI whistleblower, Sibel Edmonds.
Although the Department of Veterans Affairs has and continues to provide many important quality services to veteran patients, layers of administration have condoned and engaged in covert activities that place our veterans at risk. This nation cannot afford to dishonor it's veterans by condoning criminal activity among Department of Veterans Affairs administrators.
Whistleblowers have recently attracted significant and unprecedented international attention for exposing major ethical flaws among various private and federal organizations. In 2002, Time Magazine awarded three women “Persons of the Year”, all of whom took risks to blow the whistle on corruption at Worldcom, Enron and the FBI. These women took their roles serious enough to do the right thing, despite jeopardizing their jobs, health, privacy, and sanity.1
Reprisal against whistleblowers within Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) institutions is a concern throughout the VA healthcare system.2
Whistleblower defined is a person that exposes covert wrongdoing. The importance of encouraging healthcare providers to recognize, discuss, and disclose alleged system flaws within their respective institutions cannot be overstated. A system that frowns upon such disclosures promulgates patient risks and potential harm. Healthcare providers and policymakers need to embrace workers that seek to improve patient care after identifying major ethical flaws. Identification of problems should foster an environment that embraces change for the sake of quality improvement. There is a breakdown in the system when those that expose major ethical flaws within their agency are harassed, intimidated, or shamed. Such an environment may encourage the whistleblower to bring concerns outside their facility where a bad situation could potentially escalate.
Healthcare workers have a primary responsibility by their respective professional codes of ethics to uphold certain standards.3-6 This may involve disclosing major ethical flaws that impact patient care and patient safety. “Sometimes the battle chooses you, and the notion of choice evaporates under the glare of abuses so heinous that only a single honorable course of action is left; there is no way around reporting problems. You’re in a bad place at the wrong time, and you’re faced with a professional obligation to the patient.6” An innocent attempt to uphold one’s ethical professional standards may become a logistical whirlwind of a nightmare.6
In 1999, Terry Everett, R-Alabama, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations told a congressional panel that “there is without question a good-old-boy network within the VA” that tolerates “favoritism, cronyism, harassment, and reprisal.” He indicated that retaliation against VA whistleblowers was common and goes unpunished.2
Because of the breadth of this problem, Dr. Fudin has engaged other Veterans Affairs whistleblowers by forming a national Veterans Affairs Whistleblower Coalition (VAWBC). The coalition consists of Veterans Affairs employees (past or present) who agree to actively lobby Congress to end government retaliation against those who expose veteran patient harm and/or abuse and/or major ethical flaws. Currently, there is a false sense of security that such protection does exisit through the services of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). Unfortunately, the OSC is overwhelmed with such cases and is unable to completely investigate and follow-up with every filed complaint.
The VA Whistleblowers Coalition will demand that Congress hold hearings into the federal government’s actions against whistleblowers, the lack of protection afforded by the Office of Special Counsel, and act to require ‘individual accountability’ for retaliation against whistleblowers. The coalition bylaws will promise to hold confidential all names of members who wish to be anonymous. Since Congress is more likely to respond to a large constituency and time is crucial, we will offer auxiliary affiliations to any and all United States veterans and veteran groups to assist Veterans Affairs healthcare providers in exposing ethical flaws that may have already affected their fallen comrades. Inclusion of an active veteran group will give some ownership to the victims of this national injustice.
Together, the VAWBC will attempt to engage journalists across the country to expose injustices and encourage Veterans Affairs Employees and U.S. Veteran auxillary affiliates to join the Veterans Affairs Whistleblower Coalition VAWBC.
If you are interested in becoming part of the grassroots effort, please contact Dr. Fudin by clicking on the "E-mail Contact" section to the left of this page or by visiting VAWBC. You are also welcome to visit Dr. Fudin's PAIN website and review his professional accomplishments by clicking here at NOVAPAIN.net.
REFERENCES
1. Lacayo R, Ripley A. Persons of the Year: Cynthia Cooper, Coleen Rowley and Sherron Watkins December 30, 2002 Vol. 160 No. 27.
2. U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Washington, DC. Whistleblowing and retaliation in the department of veterans affairs, March 11, 1999:1-60.
3. Finkelstein D, Wu AW, Holtzman NA, Smith MK. When a physician harms a patient by a medical error: ethical, legal, and risk-management considerations. J Clin Ethics. 1997 Winter;8(4):330-5.
4. Baddely P. Whistleblowing: a professional duty. Nurs Stand. 1992 Apr 8-14;6(29):47.
5. McDonald S, Ahern K. The professional consequences of whistleblowing by nurses. J Prof Nurs. 2000 Nov-Dec;16(6):313-21.
6. Frandzel S. Pharmacists urge colleagues to do the right thing. Whistleblowers share survival strategies. Pharmacy Practice News. December 2003.