Aurora, Colo.-based Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center paused heart surgeries between 2022 and 2023 due to lack of staff, but did not tell the federal Veterans Health Administration, The Denver Post reported June 24.
Two new reports by the Veterans Affairs' Office of the Inspector General found leadership created a "culture of fear" that compromised patient safety and provided details on the paused surgeries. No harm to patients was found at the hospital.
The inspector general's 57-page report found five nurse practitioners who provided intensive care to patients after heart surgery left the hospital in April 2022. The hospital paused heart surgeries for one month in mid-June 2022. The situation was temporarily resolved by having three physicians cover the ICU, but another pause on heart surgeries was issued from September 2022 to October 2023. The hospital notified the federal agency for the one month pause, but not the year-long pause.
Inspectors found the second pause was prolonged due to a lack of recruiting by leaders. During the pause, three of the four heart surgery staff quit and the remaining one was fired. The VA hospital then contracted with Aurora-based University of Colorado Hospital to use its surgeons and resumed heart surgeries.
Inspectors also found during that time that some of the leaders created a "culture of fear" that discouraged staff from bringing up safety concerns. The two leaders accused of harboring that culture have left the organization. New leadership has been brought in and patient safety concern reports have increased, showing that staff feel more comfortable speaking up, VA Eastern Colorado interim director Amir Farooqi told the Post.
The heart surgery pauses are unrelated to the hospital's most recent surgical pause after unknown residue was found on reusable medical equipment in May.