Investigative team from news 4 to help ushe fix t problems. The head of the Medical Center answered tough questionss from the oveht committee and announced fixes are in the works for what youre about to see. Over the next half hour wereou taking y inside our investigation to dissect how the scandalirst erupted and what has changed since. Among the tens of thousands of men and women who walked through these drs in the last year i was having complicationsth wi multiple sclerosis. What the doctors saw made clear to them they needed admit nu. Righeeded to stay there. Right. Last 4th of july the airconditioning failed inside. And the temperature w unbearable. 36 s later youre walking out. Right. One of a series of problems in the last threeea y. We found temperature problems, also spoiled thousands of flu ots, and ruined supplies in the blood bank. There were also supply sportages, some so severe doctors cancelled procedures. One patient had to be aken from anaesthesia because they couldnt find thede need equipment for a procedure. Not in this quantity. Problems withte slizing equipment, all aggravated by a culture of complacency according to the vas Inspector General. He put out of his own report. They had to improvise and take stopgap measures at every step. There was improvising going on. There was. Thats not common at va Medical Centers . It shouldnt be. A 2013 report written by a contractor hired found shortcomings that needed to be addressed. Something we pressed the then va secretary David Shulkin about weeks before he resigner. There w warnings about this as far back01s 23. Some of these problems are significant in size, and you were here, long before 2017, how is any of this what you call a surprise . Fir of all i think youre exactly right, these are issues like you find throughout much of the va, long standing issues. I was not aware of those issues. I was not aware until the Inspector General actually picked up the phone. Five different men have headed this troubled facility since 2017. Michael himle is on the job right now. He sat down with the iteam a few weeks into the job to address the uphill battle he faced. Every veteran in the community should understand that we take their trust in us very, very seriously. Michael himle knew all eyes were watching him. T it jus seems tragic, the flag ship Medical Center of the va is considered among wor if not the worst in the nation. Absolutely, and it shouldnt be thatway. What i want is a Health Care System that i am comfortable, that i trust with my care. Reporter when we spoke to him last fall he admitted fixes quickly. Come ive told the staff weve got a fiveyear plan and it will really be a veyear plan to get the organization to where i want to see it perform. Reporter a scathing audit last march found dozens of deficiencies, but an iteam review shows only a hdful were corrected. You have concerns about the building itself. How do you fix that . It takes time. It takes scheduling of projects. And it takes funding. Reporter himle is trying to hire more employees t address problems with sterilization and postponed surgeries. Every single one of them we take a hard look at where our process broke down so that that se had to be cancelled and what well change in our process today so it doesnt happen tomorrow. Repor whi at the same keeping motivated. Our staffs been through an awful lot. They know the ig reports out they see pieces in the media. And staff gets beat down over that. Reporter a few mon that interview the iteam began hearing from other insiders, including urrent employees who felt the need to speak out about progress being made. Youre a veteran. Do you receive care there . I do,ut i will not get any procedure done there. Reporter striking words from veterans who know firsthand what its like inside this hospital trying to repair its reputation. Reporter why do you stay . For the vets. Reporter they need you. I am one, so its hard. Reporter were not showing their faces because theyre also current employees of the Medical Center. And they worry about retaliation forg speakinout. Were crying out for help ans were jnot getting the resources that we need. Reporter its been one year since internal va investigators dropped a bombshell report about this facility. Revealing widespread mismanagement, supply shortages, postned procedures and wasted money. This isnt a onemonth, sixmonth, oneyear rebuilding, this is three to five years to bring this facility back to where it should be. Reporter himle spoke with us stecond time this spreng. He said theyve had improved sterilization, and fewerd or po procedures. We have not had a procedure postponed due to equipment availability really since early december. There have been that have been postponed or cancelled due to supply shortages. Repor recently, this spring . Recently, yes. Reporter but employees say there are still postponements due to supply itiues and scrambling. There times that people districts have to run to other facilities and get supply that a pedient reporter do you have enough helping you . No, no, not at all. Its a challenge, every day to figure out what to do. Reporter employees say many of the continuedem probls stem from chronic staffing shortages and problems in human re somethg noted in the 2018 Inspector General report even mt the hospital are broken. Reporter this cilian employee sis some coworkers are struh issues due to added workload and weeks of o the slack. We know how hard theyre in work repor himle admits there needs to be improvement in hr, a challenge across the entire agency. 136 new staff were hired in 2019 and contractors are being used to fill the gaps. Employees who spoke outgeorry nt isnt listening enough to those on the front lines. I feel scared as a patient at this medical facility, as an employee its a place that its the worst place ive ever seen. Reporter at the recent eacongressional hng the director said theyve eliminated the backlog for a prosthetics created Standard Operating Procedures for the staff. When we come back, devastated families wondering if more could have been their loved ones after visiting americas flag ship veterans and an alarming escape, how did a psychiatric patient manage to sneak out of a hospital. N employee to call him a cab . Z3d2uz z16fz y3d2uy y16fy hes dancing like nobodys watching. And because all of the devices on freds wifi network are protected with xfinity xfi, literally, nobodys watching. Except for millions of you, of course. Wait, millions of people are watchin yeah. Were making a commercial. If its connected, itfi protected, with xty xfi. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Get started with xfinity for 79. 99 a month f 2 years. Plus, add xfi advantage for enhanced network security. Click, call or visit a store today. Wood row was a jokester sometimes, he was family oriented. The annual familyut og at haynes point didnt seem the same. Because he wasnt there. He says the grief of losing her brother was made worse by how the navy veteran died, hours of receiving care at the d. Cva Medical Center. When he didnt return home in 2018, his family became concerned and called the hospital but says n one could locate him. The next day loretta decided to go look for herself. As soon as i turned in there was his car. My heart was bting. Sometimes you get this feeling or this sense of something. Reporter she spotted his vehicle parked in a handicap spot, her brother still inside, but gone. Of death was mixed intoxication, and ruled accidental. Why couldnt they find the car . It was right there. Reporter but our iteam investigation revealed thats not the only recent death that has troubled workers and veterans inside this major Medical Center. Willy davis under went a lung biopsy in he immediately complained of pain a coughing. Rushed that night to the George WashingtonUniversity Hospital e. R. , he died hours later. His daughter declined to discuss th case on camera but says they never heard from the va after their fathers biopsy. Agency sources tell the iteam dae Medical Center didnt learn about ss death until the other hospital sent the va a bill. Why are some of these deaths not found first by your Medical Center . I cant speak toed what happenefore i got here. Im familiar with both of those cases. Himle, the Medical Center director, says hospital procedures are under review and changes will be made if necessary. If we did somethi wrong weve got an obligation to disclose that to the patient and the fately. Repor he admits the Medical Center failed earlier is year. On february 6th the vet who f sufferm opioid addiction enters the emergency room. He asks staff to admit him to the hospital but after evaluating the man the Medical Center teams released him and gave him a february 8th followup appointment in anie outpatnt program. February 12th, the man shot himself inside his home. There was some type of breakdown in the pcess at the Medical Center. Absolutely. That w a veteran that came to us for help and we failed. We checked datases. Whent comes to communicating with patients recovering at home, the Medical Center is below averagey nationall and almost exactly average in d. C. A new issue uncovered by the iteam that impacted patients and the public when a psychiatric patient at the va managed to escape. Internal va records obtained by the iteam sayar a 29yeld man escape it had psychiatric ward at the d. C. Va Medical Center fter entering the shower in may. By removing the Ceiling Tiles, removing the ceiling ventilation and crawling to a neighboring office outside the locked space. Heres what happened next according to a relative. He went through the emergency room and asked someone in the emergency room, the staff at the hospital to call a taxi cab. And they called him a cab. They called him a cab. Hwas wearing his hospital clothes. He was wearing his scrub bottoms and a tank top. The relative did not want to be identified because the man is accused of taking that cab ride he home in manassas where held a woman he knew against her will and assaulted her. Prince William CountyPolice Arrested him. The hospital told the iteam they quickly identified the veteranon location and ctacted police. The relative told us Something Else getting c in theab the patient called home to alert family he was out. The relative called va hospital twice to warn them the man escaped but they couldnt even confirm he was a patient. Yar tried to them hed escaped. And they didnt go look . , they didnt even bother walking in to check his room. After that incident the internal va records show staff were rrained on how to better identify escape risk, also tamper resistant fasteners were put on the Ceiling Tiles and the facility also plans to install locks on the covers. The patient was hospitalized in virginia aftereing charged by police but hes since been released. Reporter problems not just inside the d. V. Va, but also outside as veterans struggle to make appointments and the parking crunch. We it was a story about the local hava hospital tt stuck with a lot of viewers, veterans struggling to get around forced to walk long distances to see their doctors, because of a hugn park problem facing the Medical Center here in d. C. Getting most places takes just a little longer for sequoia pointer. When you have a dramatic situation happen to you you just dont recover as fast as they think. Reporte three decadese fter serving u. S. Army pointer is fighting another battle, recovering from a stroke and still struggles to use his left arm and leg. You set aside 30 minutes tod fin parking. Just to find parking. 30 minutes . Yes, at least 30 minutes. Getting to aointments lately has turned into a lesson in patience. He h unloaded scooter and made the long trek from the back of the lot to get back inside. To fight through traffic and fight for a parking space and then hes going to have to fight to get in there and get where hes going. Ive walked those halls with reporter when we first met jonathan warwk he was navigating a hill. He had two hips replaced, a fractured spine, did it occur to you i shouldnt be walking this far to get to m doctor . In a sense, yes, i shouldnt, i shouldnt have to be talking that far. Reporter the newsfo 4 itea d patient after patient forced to walk long distances after a long search for a spot, just howar . We measured from the backow r to the front door, more than 3 1 2 football fieldeach way, a third of a mile round trip. Parking lot access is somethinghat we hear about a lot. Reporr Heather Ansley says this is a growing complaint at va Medical Centers. A parking challenge means some veterans may not bry ting to go. Exactly. Internal va records obtained by the iteam show theyve been aware of this problem, calling it an unacceptable deficiency and identifying dozens of other parking issues at Medical Centers nationwide. Theres a big list of needs nationwide. Does that surprise you . At unfortuny, no. Good news in april, the d. C. V. A. Opened a new parking garage that has a shuttle service. A mesge to d. C. Veterans from the head of the agency when this news 4 iteam spec a message to o why switch to fios now . You get the best internet on the 100 fiberoptic network and now the best value from your tv package with the fios tv test drive. I love tv. Once my kids go to bed, tv is my way to unwind. Youll get over 425 channels for 60 days. That sounds awesome. You can unlock the perfect tv package, so you pay for the plan you want. I dont want to spend money on things that i dont need get access to over 425 channels for 60 days, including premium channels like showtime after that, well recommend the perfect tv package based on what you watch. I like to know what im paying for. Sports and entertainment fanatic, theres a plan for you. Kids shows and news your thinged weve got you cover iswitch to the bestnternet on the 100 fiberoptic networkd anthe fios tv test drive will unlock the perfect tv package, so you only pay for what y want. Including fios gigabit connection, and a 2year price guarantee all for just 79. 99 a month with a 2year agreement. Plus, right now, youll get a Samsung Chromebook 3 or 200 toward select samsung tech. Thats fios. The director of the d. C. Va medica h center says theree been positive developments, especially with supply shortages and the sterilizationf equipment. The Inspector General of the u. S. Department of Veterans Affairs charged with watchdogging this medical centes says a progr report will come in at the end of october of this year. At the very top of the agency the secretary of vetans affairs says progress is being mademe at the cal center, and he did so in a recent sitdown interview witamthe ite where he talked with the va and about this facility. The good news about d. C. Is that, and youve certainly covered it the last few years, is that the ratings have gone up. Its now no longer a one star facility. Its a two star facility. We have a dedicated Womens Health clinic. Our mortality rates are as good or better than any in metropolitan washington, d. C. And that is a huge step forward. We finally put in placerm peent leadership. I cant speak to the crises that you reported onthe last few years. Wasnt here. But i can tell you that we are focusing on it should be the flag ship, and i do think it is improved greatly. The permanentr directo you referenced says this is a fix that will takear not months. Does that sound acceptable . Well, i dont know. I didnt see that comment. But i hope it doesnt. And its my goal across the country to make sure that those things dont happen whato you say to the d. C. Veterans . I say first, thank you for volunteering to serve your cotry. Come to us. Not only come to us but tell us htat you need, tell us what you see that is rignd tell us what you see that is wrong. This is not your grandfathers va anymore. We are changing with the population of tevens. The news 4 iteam would also like to hear from many of the stories youve seen come from veterans, families and employees. If you have something we should benvestigating with the va there are many ways to reach us. You see the phone number and the email on your screen. Call us at 2028854444 or send usn email at tips news 4 i team. Com. From our entire news 4 iteam and all the women and men of nbc 4, we thank you for joining us m iara gore, and welcome to open house. This week, we are just off union square to check out a chic duplex penthouse with its very own rooftop conservatory. And architect bob henry shows why you should bring your dancing shoes to his recentlyle compted downtown project. Th plus penouse living la style with views to die for. But first, designer Melissa Warner rothblum shows how she made a traditional Beverly Hills home feel fresh and modern. So after we finish the main house, we built a whole separate structure th our clients like to call the man cave. Welcome topen house. Today, im coming to you from this unique tplex penthouse in manhattans kips bay neighborhood. The modern openfloor plan of this spacious corner great room allows for effortless entertaining between the living area, dining, and the kitchen. And Natural Light pours through floortoceiling windows that frame spectacular views views you can also enjoy from the ample outdoor spaces, which make the home feel much larger than its already spacious 4,500 square feet. Lets get started in Beverly Hills with designe Melissa Warner rothblum. Ly see how she completeupdatee from the 1940s while maintaining its original detail and charm. The results are open and airy spaces that feel fresh, textured, and most of all, vibrant [music playing] hi, every