The Durham (N.C.) Veterans Affairs Medical center purchased nearly $1.4 million in supplies in 2014 that were sent to a storage facility and never unpacked, according to Stars and Stripes.
The hospital bought $385,000 in computer equipment and $1 million worth of equipment, including vital sign machines, dental chairs and cabinets, according to an anonymous whistleblower who alerted the Special Counsel Office of the U.S. Justice Department in 2017. The goods were stored off-site for years before being discovered, still unused.
"The equipment was stored in an off-site storage facility for several years with no plan in place to put the equipment into use, or to place it at another VA facility with a bona fide need," reads a VA report to the special counsel in 2017.
The facility previously was cited for gathering and using bottled water that expired in 2010, which violates VA policy that states bottled water must be used within one year of purchase.