Veteran Died At Bedford Hospital While Nurse's Aide Played Video Games, Report Alleges

BEDFORD, MA – Doctors told the family of Bill Nutter, a Vietnam War veteran and retired police detective who died at the Bedford VA Medical Center in 2016, that a nurse's aide failed to check on him every hour. But the aide, Patricia Waible, allegedly later admitted she was playing video games on her computer instead of performing the mandatory hourly checks, a person with "firsthand knowledge" told the Boston Globe.

Since Nutter's death last July, the hospital has been the subject of a criminal investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general, Veterans Affairs Press Secretary Curtis Cashour said in an email. According to Cashour, the inspector general had initially asked the Bedford hospital not to take action against Waible.

Waible was reassigned to a cafeteria job shortly after Nutter's death; a nurse, who allegedly made a "crude gesture signifying a slit throat" when reporting the death to her boss, was on her probation period and ultimately fired, the Globe reported.

After VA Secretary David Shulkin's office was contacted by the Globe in September about Waible's alleged admission, she was suspended with pay from her cafeteria job. Cashour said the office is proposing that Waible be removed permanently.

"Secretary Shulkin has made clear that VA will hold employees accountable when the facts demonstrate that they have failed to live up to the high standards taxpayers expect from us, and last week’s decision by the Bedford VAMC leadership bears that out," Cashour wrote.

Nutter, a helicopter gunner in Vietnam, developed a litany of health issues in the decades after he returned from war, which doctors attributed to his exposure to Agent Orange. According to the Globe, his family did not know all of the details surrounding his death until the newspaper began investigating. They now are reportedly considering legal action against the VA.

Nutter's case is not the first to raise concerns about the Bedford VAMC. The Globe reported whistleblower employees and families have detailed issues ranging from patients quickly declining in health after being admitted, to veterans in long-term care being left without food.

The VA has since taken several steps to improve care at the Bedford hospital, including appointing Susan MacKenzie as Bedford VAMC acting director this past July, refining the medical center's Nursing Service Patient Rounding Checklist to "better ensure quality and safety" and conducting administrative checks by nursing supervisors during all shifts, according to Cashour.

He added that Shulkin is planning to visit the Bedford facility in the coming weeks to meet with staff, whistleblowers, stakeholders and state officials.

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Read the full Globe story here