Haley apologizes to Sen. Nelson

The director of the James A. Haley VA Medical Center apologized to Sen. Bill Nelson, saying miscommunication at Haley led to an incomplete disclosure to him about shortcomings in the care provided a patient who died there on June 30.

The letter by Stephen Lucas, which arrived at Nelson's office late Friday, said the Department of Veterans Affairs is committed to openness.

"VA is committed to transparency in its relationship with veterans," Lucas told Nelson. "That is why we disclose errors to veterans and/or their families whenever we discover them. In the same vein, we are committed we are committed to transparency with members of Congress."

The St. Petersburg Times first reported the case of Coast Guard veteran Richard Stecher, 64, on Aug. 8. Stecher died of a perforated obstructed bowel that apparently went undiagnosed for several months by Haley physicians.

After emergency surgery, Stecher died on June 30 after his family asked that life support be removed.

Stecher's companion, Mary Nicholl, filed a complaint with both Nelson and Rep. Gus Bilirakis asking for answers in Stecher's death. After Nelson and Bilirakis' office contacted Haley, the facility responded in a July 24 letter detailing Stecher's case.

But that letter did not contain seemingly essential information about Stecher's case, including the fact that three doctors "missed opportunities" to treat Stecher and that he should have been admitted to the hospital in April, two months before his death.

After a second Times story showing that Haley had not provided Bilirakis and Nelson with full information on the case, the congressmen again sought more answers from the VA.

In his letter, Lucas said Stecher did not suffer from severe pain or fever, symptoms that misled doctors into not admitting him sooner than they did.

Nicholl's attorney, John Trevena, has looked into the possibility of suing Haley. But since Nicholl was not married to Stecher, Nicholl has concluded no lawsuit is possible and she said she will not file one. One of Stecher's grown children also has sought legal counsel.

Haley has refused to discuss specifics of Stecher's case.