Veteran alleges mistreatment at VA

Roosevelt Keyes, a former nursing assistant at the Spinal Cord Center in Palo Alto was terminated from his position in 2005 after eight years of service to the hospital and 20 to Veterans Affairs. Keyes, 55, served in the Army for 30 years, 10 active, as a paramedic.

As a former employee, Keyes said his treatment during the final months of his employment were discouraging as an American veteran. He compares the situation at the VAPAHCS to the scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. in February when patient neglect and substandard facilities were exposed to the public.

However, the Merit Systems Protection Board ruled Keyes’ termination was proper after 22 months of absence and a refusal to return back to work after a direct order, said VAPAHCS Communications Officer Kerri Childress.

The VAPAHCS strives to "honor America’s veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being” and serves more than 85,000 enrolled veterans.

Keyes and five co-workers filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint in 2002. Keyes said he was trained to do work equivalent to that of registered nurses and not in his job description as a nursing assistant. However, he said his pay was three times less.

Keyes was removed without pay from his position in July of 2003, soon after his EEO complaint. His co-workers then dropped their complaints, he said. Prior to his removal, Keyes said he was switched to a graveyard shift and forced to watch a diversity tape after a verbal argument with a Filipina nurse.

Keyes said he experienced stress during this time and saw a VA psychiatrist. The doctor recommended he be given a break due to a work-related injury. In 2005, Keyes was terminated indefinitely for excessive absence.

"They saw me as a threat, a thorn in their side,” said Keyes.

Keyes said he was the victim of racial discrimination. The nurse manager, an Asian woman, that Keyes initially filed the EEO complaint against oversaw his case after his removal, said Keyes.

"I cannot believe they made me, a black man that has served in the Army and traveled around the world, watch a diversity film. If that is not blatantly racist, I don’t know what is,” said Keyes.

Keyes said he was wrongly terminated for "whistle blowing,” or reporting an employer committing an illegal act. Whistle blowers are protected by law and cannot be retaliated against. Keyes is suing the VAPAHCS under the Whistleblower’s Act for the pay he lost.

Troy Johnson, a 42-year old black veteran of the Army and good friend of Keyes, developed an ulcer on his backside and passed out while in an outpatient clinic in Sacramento. He was transferred to Ward 2A, a post recovery ward in Palo Alto, he said.

Johnson, under the care of a young intern from Stanford Medical Center, repeatedly received the wrong medications. He requested to have his care switched and two days later was sent to a convalescent home in Sacramento.

While in Sacramento, he developed deeper bedsores and the facility did not know he needed a wheelchair. Also, a medicine he was given inflamed his liver and negatively affected his kidneys. After five days, Johnson was sent to the Spinal Cord Center in Palo Alto.

"My doctor wanted to shuffle me out and bring someone else in, like a waiter. He was young and not very caring. The treatment I received was not very veteran friendly,” said Johnson. "On the other hand, the Spinal Center definitely cares about me. I should have been here all along.”

Johnson’s doctor declined to comment.

Keyes said Ward 2A did not provide adequate care and showed no professional decision making.

"They needed to make sure the hospital had the proper facilities to care for Troy. Instead of sending him to Sacramento, they needed to keep him in 2A until a bed opened up in the Spinal Cord Center,” said Keyes.

Keyes said the VA treated Johnson poorly in an effort to get even with him because they were good friends.

Henry Rutland, head of the Northern California chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, wants a congressional investigation to uncover the injustice.

"This mistreatment of veterans seems to be widespread. Troy’s situation was life threatening. Roosevelt was mistreated as a black employee. Racism is inherent within the VA and it needs to come to light,” said Rutland.

Keyes wants to change the medical care that veteran’s receive to prevent a situation similar to Johnson’s.

"We need a better system. We need to treat vets with more respect. They are fighting a war for us. That is why we have freedom and liberty,” said Keyes.