[ABCNEWS.GO] Workers at the Phoenix VA Health Care System -- where Sherlocks say veterans' health was jeopardized when employees covered up long wait times for patients -- received about $10 million in bonuses, newly released records show.
Documents from the VA indicate than 2,100 employees got bonuses over the course of a three-year period, the Arizona Republic reported Tuesday.
The records, which were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, show the bonuses kept increasing. The VA paid $2.5 million in 2011, $3.5 million in 2012 and $3.9 million last year. The merit-based bonuses were doled out to nearly 650 employees each of those years. The employees included doctors, nurses, administrators, secretaries and cleaning staff.
"The VA employee recognition and awards program provides an entire range of rewards to recognize employees who make contributions that support goals and objectives across the facility," Phoenix VA spokeswoman Jean Schaefe said.
A VA inspector general's report found that 1,700 veterans seeking treatment at the Phoenix VA hospital were at risk of being "lost or forgotten" after being kept off the official waiting list. |