An Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital that is currently under investigation for excessive wait times has been giving deceased veterans the same neglectful treatment. Deceased veterans have been left for up to two months without being given a proper burial, according to an unidentified whistleblower. Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital has reached a new low. The facility first made headlines for forcing suffering veterans to wait weeks for treatment, being infested with roaches and black mold, and now for neglecting deceased veterans that have not been claimed by a family.
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) is outraged by the treatment these fallen heroes have received. He lambasted the Chicago hospital in a statement made to reporters. He told Fox News:
“Hines VA — the hospital that has been overrun with cockroaches and mold and left vets waiting for care for months on secret wait lists, has reached a new low in the treatment of our veterans. We now have reports of bodies being left to decompose in the morgue for months on end.”
His office has received reports that some of the bodies were left so long they were “liquefied” by the time VA employees attempted to move them from the morgue. The whistleblower stated in a letter to Kirk’s office:
“a body had liquefied and the bag burst when staff had attempted to move it.”
Staff from the VA’s Office of Medical Inspector were reportedly seen at the hospital conducting an investigation. They have not released the results of that report and have even gone as far as refusing to comment on whether or not the investigation took place. The whistleblower went on to state that, on top of being neglected for weeks at a time, the facility also does not employ medical examiners or embalmers that are properly trained to care for deceased veterans that are locked in their freezer for weeks at a time.
[revad2]
