By PAUL DE LA GARZA, Times Staff Writer
Published March 3, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - The spokesman for Bay Pines VA Medical Center said Tuesday he believes hospital officials have retaliated against him because they suspect he leaked negative information to the media.
Larry Christman, who has been at Bay Pines nearly 11 years, has been replaced as the media contact by a spokesman transferred from Atlanta.
He said his telephone extension and computer connection have been shut down, and his voice mail messages have been given to a staff assistant to the hospital director.
Christman also complained that in recent weeks he has been excluded from senior staff meetings.
The hospital is the target of five federal inquiries focusing on allegations of mismanagement and problems with a new $472-million computer system.
Christman has not returned to work since last week when he and hospital director Smith Jenkins heatedly argued over the accuracy of information Jenkins provided to a senior Veterans Affairs official. The day after the argument, Jenkins had armed guards posted outside his office.
The clash with Jenkins sent Christman to the emergency room, complaining of chest pains. He said doctors have told him he had high blood pressure associated with a hostile work environment.
"I'm taking a long sick leave under doctor's orders because the environment is not friendly to me," Christman, 62, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served two tours in Vietnam, said in an interview.
Christman said he agreed with VA Secretary Anthony Principi that Bay Pines has management problems that need to be fixed.
For example, Christman said, because management has failed to address a shortage of radiologists, the lives of veterans have been put at risk. He said diagnostic tests such as CT scans, MRIs, and X-rays often go weeks and even months before they are read.
Dr. Samuel Carranza, a lung specialist at Bay Pines, agreed with Christman's assessment of the hospital. "We don't feel that we're able to take the best care of our patients that we possibly can, and it's because of the leadership that we have," he said.
"Not only do they not listen and not understand, but they seem to just go in the face of what's right."
Pointing to Christman, Carranza explained why doctors are afraid to speak out publicly. "This is what happens when people disagree (with management)," Carranza said. "They get shoved off."
Tom Thomas, the acting Bay Pines spokesman, said he could not comment on Christman's allegations because Christman had not shared his concerns with hospital officials.
Principi spokeswoman Cynthia Church said Bay Pines was not retaliating against Christman. She said that with Christman out sick, and with the media spotlight on Bay Pines, Jenkins felt the hospital needed to have a public affairs official.
"It is not our policy to retaliate against any employee," Church said. "That's not who we are, and that's not what we do as an agency."
She said Christman's job was secure.
Church noted that the VA inspector general is looking into allegations of mismanagement at Bay Pines. "We fully expect the IG's investigation to highlight any issues that may exist at Bay Pines that need to be corrected," she said.
Last week, Church said Jenkins had requested armed guards outside his office as "a visual," to reassure staff members that despite the multiple investigations, it's business as usual at Bay Pines.
Principi ordered the IG investigation last month in response to scores of surgery delays that have resulted from a shortage of surgical supplies. Hospital administrators have blamed the backlog on a pilot computer system that is being tested at Bay Pines.
Congressional committees are also looking into allegations of mismanagement.
Christman pointed out that Dr. Elwood J. Headley, director of the VA hospital network in Florida, southern Georgia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, had refused to meet with doctors who have raised concerns about chief of staff Dr. Pramod K. Mohanty, and Susan Angell, the associate director.
After articles in the Times highlighted the allegations, Headley ordered an internal review of Mohanty. The investigation has been completed, but its findings have not been released. Doctors have questioned the thoroughness of the review because of its speed.
Investigators appointed by Headley visited Bay Pines in late January. A week later, Jenkins addressed the review at a general staff meeting.
"The team found no deficits in the quality of care and determined that those changes that have been put in place have improved the quality of care," according to minutes from the meeting.
Christman said he would not give much credence to Headley's investigation.
"The guy that wouldn't meet with the doctors organized this investigation team from other people that report to him," Christman said. "Now what does that sound like to you? To me, it doesn't sound objective."
- Paul de la Garza can be reached at 813-226-3432 or delagarza@sptimes.com