Federal investigators found a nurse and a nurse's aide asleep during their shifts at the Brockton (Mass.) Veterans Affairs Medical Center nursing home, according to The Boston Globe.
A VA spokesperson said officials took "immediate corrective action" after the incident and an internal investigation. The two nurses no longer work at the nursing home.
One nurse slept in a darkened room while the other was wrapped in a blanket in the locked cafeteria.
The sleeping staff members served as a critical focus of an internal report on patient care at the facility, conducted after a colleague complained, according to a letter sent in late October to President Trump and Congress by the agency that protects government whistle-blowers.
The VA's Office of Medical Inspector largely supported the whistle-blower's complaint, concluding a "a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety exists" in the nursing home.
"We have significant concern about the blatant disregard for veteran safety by the registered nurses and certified nurse assistants," the agency investigators wrote in a report.