Press Releases

VA Inspector General Report can be found here.

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree issued the following statement about a VA Inspector General's report on mental health services at VA Togus.  Pingree was briefed this morning by the VA officials who conducted the investigation. 

I am deeply disappointed withsome of the findings of this investigation. Timely mental health care is critical for veterans and their families and they should not be made to wait for it—or even worse, get lost in the system.  But this report shows that is exactly what is happening.  The Inspector General found that because Togus isn't following the rules, we don't know how long the wait is for some patients.  I don't know if managers were intentionally trying to hide long waits or whether they were simply failing to follow thecorrect procedures for reporting, but either way it's clear that some things need to change with the way Togus cares for veterans who need mental healthcare.
 
Let me be clear, there are mental health providers doing excellent work at Togus, and I know they don't have the budgets they should have, but this report made it clear that staffing levels are inadequate, morale is low and the systems that are in place for tracking veterans with mental health needs weren't always followed. That's a disservice to our veterans and a failure that Togus needs to address.
 
It is also unacceptable that in some parts of Togus there is afear of reprisal that may be contributing to the high staff turnover described in the report.
 
I also want to say how grateful I am for the people at Togus who brought these issues to my attention.  I know they care about the veterans they serve and I appreciate their willingness to bring about change.

Employees at Togus first contacted Pingree last year to raise numerous concerns about practices in the mental health department. Pingree referred the concerns to the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and Mike Michaud, the ranking member of the committee, to request an Inspector General investigation into the allegations.