A federal investigation found that the New Orleans VA Medical Center overspent $1.85 million for surgical supplies and that employees violated supply chain management policies, according to a report released Sept. 14.
The report, from the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Inspector General, said employees at the hospital violated VA supply chain management policies by not properly accounting for excess supplies or letting its other facilities know the supplies were available. The employees also violated federal regulations when they used government purchase cards instead of contracts to obtain supplies.
The Office of Inspector General said it received a complaint in August 2019 alleging mismanagement of supplies at the hospital.
The office recommended that the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System director account for the undocumented excess suplies and determine if any administrative actions should be taken regarding some $675,000 in missing supplies.
"The VA OIG Report focuses on events that occurred during the activation of the medical center and prior to August 2019. Since then, the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System has started implementing each of the OIG’s recommendations, which are expected to be complete by December 2021. As an organization, we hold ourselves accountable for providing veterans the highest quality care while maintaining careful stewardship of operational funds," a health system spokesperson said in a statement shared with Becker's.
Find the full report here.