The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

April 18, 2009

Beckley VA center under investigation

By Staff and Wire Reports

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says it is conducting an investigation at the VA Medical Center in Beckley.

While a spokeswoman for the agency in Washington did not specify the focus of the investigation, she said that “allegations of harassment or potential abuse” are taken seriously.

Karin McGraw, director of the Beckley VA Medical Center, said Saturday that alleged “unprofessional conduct in our facility” was being investigated. She said no one had been fired, but that there were “pending actions” against employees.

Debbie Voloski, a spokeswoman at the Beckley VA, confirmed an investigation into “certain issues.” She also declined to discuss the nature of the investigation.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said the senator’s office had been informed last month of what she called serious allegations of employee misconduct at the hospital. Rockefeller is a member and former chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

The Charleston Gazette, citing an unnamed source, reported on its Web site Saturday that an alleged sex scandal at the facility had been going on for three years, involving employees ranging from supervisors to nurses, and that some of the sexual activities had taken place inside hospital rooms occupied by patients.

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