Here is the conclusion of my latest feature on Dr. Anna Chacko. Part one is here.
UPDATE: Please also check out my new book, The Definitive Dossier on PTSD in Whistleblowers, in which I dedicate chapter four entirely to the exploits of Dr. Anna Chacko.
Mike-
ReplyDeleteThe whistleblower who alleges that $6.3 million was not used for Traumatic Brain Injury Research as allocated but for other "projects" is Robert Van BOVEN with a B- please change your blog.
Mike-
ReplyDeleteYou also forgot to cite that information provided after the sentence "Here is what is wrong with the arrangment." is all information that you stated in a previous blog was submitted to you a "source at the Pittsburgh VA.
And did your source contact the NRC about illegal activity- if not you should be willing to do this for them- ILLEGAL is ILLEGAL. Why didn't the IG inform the NRC?
Also supposedly the IG " commended the VAPHS technical and administrative staff for the efforts to get to the bottom of Dr Chacko’s complaints, locally, and for doing the right thing."
Could you please cite the IG report with is information- some of us would like to take a more objective look and analysis.
Mike-
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am trying to figure out who "leaked" infomation to you and specifically Miller's letter and also Chacko's personal email correspondence to an army guy looking for a job.
It seems that someone high up in the Pittsburgh VA could be your only source. Also have you ascertained if it was illegal for them to monitor Chacko personal email- where they doing close monitoring and surveillance of her to get stuff for the second ABI?
Mike-
ReplyDeleteReading your blog- there is nothing that address that Chacko settled her EEO on 9/1- and effectively nullified her claims of discrimination in exchange for something- Can you investigate this aspect and tell us what the administration of Pitts VA gave her so that she could her claim of discrimination. Thanks
MIKE-
ReplyDeleteChacko complaints appear legitimate and should have been addressed. It's unfortunate the non- radiologists weree involved in purchasing and runnning of the department. Why do these non-radiologist run the radiology department if they have no expertise to understand that to insure that the best images are available for interpretation of pathology they have to be performed in a certain way?
Mike-
ReplyDeleteYou write "She's been helped by sloppy and shoddy reporting."
The articles by Casey and Roche are actually pretty good, even if they don't come to your conclusion.
Again- why can't everybody just see it that Chacko is a pyschopath, I wonder.
Mike-
ReplyDeleteI love your blog- I hope your next expose is Melhem
what Chacko knew and ignored to mention was that the engineers who set up the 1.5T whole body MRI warned against putting another 1.5T MRI in close proximity for major field interference. When she wanted to swith the order for the 1T extrimity MRI to 1.5T, she was asked to get a written statement from both vendors that this will work. She failed to do so, because this is just not feasible. Of note, all these purchases were made at the recommendation of the radiologists, the rad supervisor with input from all the technical staff, years before Chacko ever joined the VAPHS. All her claims are "BIG FAT HOAX".
ReplyDeleteMike-
ReplyDeleteI am a little confused by your last paragraph in the piece- please clarify the following points.
1) "Those that follow the plight of the whistleblower closely know the consequences when their screams are ignored." Which are?
2)"What are the consequences of someone falsely claiming to be a whistle blower and having those claims be believed. " What are those consequences?
3)"Better yet, what if it’s the Washington Post, the New York Times, or Fox News that next suggests that Dr. Anna Chacko is a whistle blower." What if it is- will she be vindicated or will they be propagating her propaganda?
Obviously, I'm not going to answer any questions about sources.
ReplyDeleteYou can continue to be fixated on the legionella incident but obviously anyone with any sense can see that Chacko is far more interesting.
Obviously, I've been inundated with comments from Chacko or one of her cronies. These are things she has been saying for nearly a year and I don't have the time to answer each of her questions at this time.
ReplyDeleteFor the anonymous who wants Mike to do expose on Melhem, good luck!!
ReplyDeleteIt will never happen for obvious reasons.
Mike, the information you have published particularly the army job in Afghanistan is a trap IMO.
Why do we have all foreigners in this drama? It is because they still behave like what they did in those countries and do not appear to respect American laws?
They seem to seek American rights but not American responsibilities.
The internet Lynching of Chacko by certain VA administrators and
c{r}ooks with your assistance evokes little sympathy from those of us who look at this problem in an objective or rational way.{whom you sadly dismiss as Chacko cronies} You are too self righteous to admit the mistakes if any in your BLOG.
I'll do an expose of Dr. Melhem when I'm given information to do an expose about. So far, there's a lot of unsubstantiated attacks in the comments. My email is on my site. If someone has information for a story, all you need to do is contact me. Frankly, that's how the Chacko story started, with an email.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why you say there are only foreigners in this story. Almost all of Chacko's victims at St. James are white. Congressman Miller and Sestak are also white. You seem to be playing the race card and it won't work.
I won't even respond to the Afghanistan comment as that's a half hearted attempt to learn about a source, and that's highly inappropriate.
Here we go. Where do you want to start? Take your pick
ReplyDeletea.Three MRI units and patients/referring MDs wait for one month to get an answer
b.Four spect scanners and patients wait time minimum two weeks including the urgent cardiac stress tests
c.Three linear accelerators and supposedly plans to replace one of them with another 5 million dollars unit including construction costs
d.Talk of buying another pet/ct when the current one is not fully utilised
5. outsourcing some of the above proceedures at a cost
The answer to above issues are
1. waste and abuse of government/your money
2. Not hiring enough techs to make the purchases more efficient for a cumulative investment of more than 30 million dollars
3. the leadership lacks credibility whether it was Chacko or other cronies in place now.
4. Dietitians, Pathologists and social workers incharge of technolgy not MBAs or radiology trained professionals as you rightfully expect
5. The only exception seems to be the CT department with the techs always looking after patient priorities inspite of radiology service chief putting limits on number of scans to be performed.
You can call the cronies at VA to verify the same and I bet you won't do an expose of VA radiology department.
Do you want monthly updates?
ps: the foreigners issue is relev ant only to VA and it is obvious for those working here. It appears radiologists of Indian and Egyptian origin are making the loudest noise. This not a racial issue but behavioral issue of certain radiologists and two pathologists at VA.
Mike-
ReplyDeleteSince we are talking about the origin of the radiologist and pathologist is it possible that in there is a cultural disconnect and their countries they don't take Hippocratic Oath and really don't care about patient. Also what about the caste system, don't they kill people who marry outside of their caste- there was a a NY times article last most on that. Do they treat veterans patient poorly because they might consider them from a lower caste?
That's not evidence of anything. That's a list of charges, I think, that someone unknown person laid at other unknown people.
ReplyDeleteNone of this certainly explains why anyone should focus on anyone but Chacko.
Mike-
ReplyDeleteIt's always about money-and there was a fight for who controls the money, unfortunately, you got the people with the least morals running the administration and the departments at these institutions. So we the tax paper give the government money and these "foreign" VA administrators, et al, then use that money without accountability. The problem is that no one is accountable- no management training for these bozos, no ethics training for these jerks, and most of all no "Protestant work ethic" for these foreigners.
They are running the VA like it was in what ever 3rd world country they came from and the VETS suffer.
Mike-
ReplyDeleteSince we are talking about the origin of the radiologist and pathologist is it possible that in there is a cultural disconnect and their countries they don't take Hippocratic Oath and really don't care about patient. Also what about the caste system, don't they kill people who marry outside of their caste- there was a a NY times article last most on that. Do they treat veterans patient poorly because they might consider them from a lower caste?
I don't know. I'm not a sociologist. I also don't know what any of this has to do with the price of tea in China.
ReplyDeleteThis is all an attempt to move the subject from Chacko and that isn't going to happen.
Finally, the VA IG finding re: thallium comes from Wally Roche who got it from the VA itself.
I work at a hospital and the Indian docs are totally arrogant and treat everybody like trash. Also an Indian collegue told me that in India there is definitely a social system and everybody conforms to it. People in the lowest caste are treated very poorly. Maybe a brahim elist attitude is what Chacko and some of these Indians docs have- how many of these people are from India?
ReplyDeleteYou work at a hospital? Are you sure? It appears there's a hospital in Panera Bread because that's where the last and several comments before it came from. Can you explain that?
ReplyDeleteEverybody is a product of their surroundings, if you grow up in a mob family, likley is you will be a mobster, if your parents are professional, likely you will be one too. With Chacko, if she came from an elitist brahim caste or attitude maybe that's what's were the problem is. Hitler didn't one day decide to be Hitler- you got to consider cultural, sociological and psychology factors that causes a "monsters" like Chacko and Melham to exist. In the words of Hannah Arendt, "the banality of evil " is perpetrated by social structures.
ReplyDeleteThere is a Panera Bread company across the street from my employment-
ReplyDeleteThat's a weak attempt to call Dr. Melhem a "monster". By that logic, all Indians are monsters. Of course, Dr. Melhem isn't even from India.
ReplyDeleteThis pschobabble gets you nowhere. No one believes that the center of this story is anyone but Dr. Chacko.
I did not say all Indians are monsters- like calling all German monsters after WWII, but there is a tendancy for people to adopt as true what their parents tell them is true, that theyy are for some reason better then everybody else. It is apparent Chacko really believes this, it may be that her culture is totally reponsible for her aberrant way of functioning in the US and that she would be totally okey if she was still in India or Egypt or whereever she grew up.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that Chacko's behavior would be acceptable anywhere. I don't think that blackmail, threats, bribes, kickbacks, and terrorizing of your fellow colleagues is acceptable in any society.
ReplyDeleteIf it's true that Chacko is doing a fellowship, it suggests that she ran out of employment options and is now seeking cover in academic training. She may try to pop up again in a year or so and get a leadership job.
ReplyDeleteIt is very, very strange that five of these comments refer to the racial/ethnic background of Chacko, and insinuate that it is BECAUSE of her race that she has committed (or allegedly committed) these acts.
ReplyDeleteRace has nothing to do poor ethics. Let me assure you, there are plenty of brilliant and compassionate "foreigners" working in the medical field here in the United States.
But I suspect all the comments were left by one person, with an axe to grind.