Arizona VA hospital failed to provide basic life support to veteran suffering medical emergency outside facility

According to a recent report from the Office of the Inspector General, a Veterans Administration Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona refused to provide basic life support to a veteran who came to their facility seeking help.

The report states that in the spring of 2023, the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Administration Medical Center failed to provide adequate support to a military veteran which ultimately led to their death.

The veteran, who has only been identified as being in their 70s, visited the medical facility prior to their medical emergency for a urology appointment. At the appointment staff failed to take their vitals despite knowing the patient had a history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and congestive
heart failure.

The veteran left the appointment with a family member who drove them home. As they were leaving, the patient became unresponsive. Since they were still on the facility’s grounds, the family member returned to the Ambulatory Care Clinic where the veteran just left.

The family member went to the information desk for help and an employee attempted to activate a rapid response, however they were directed to call 911 because according to the facility’s policy the rapid response team is only deployed when an emergency happens inside the main hospital.

Staff are directed to call 911 when anything happens outside.

The Phoenix Fire Department arrived on the scene 11 minutes after the 911 call was placed. Paramedics transported the patient to a local hospital where they died two days later.

Marine veteran and U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego called the hospital’s lack of action “inexcusable failures that led to the death of a veteran.”

“As a veteran who has received care through the VA, it is disgraceful that more effort seems to have been put into covering for those responsible than saving a veteran’s life,” Gallego said in a statement.

The OIG stated it was “unable to determine whether a change in care would have resulted in a different outcome for the patient.”

It is unacceptable that a veteran died because of a policy. This should have never happened and hopefully it will never happen again.

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