VA apologizes over Bronx death
We recently reported the case of a Tarpon Springs man who died at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa after doctors apparently failed to quickly diagnose an obstructred bowel. That led Haley's chief of staff to apologize to the man's longtime companion.
Something similar happened in the Bronx.
The Washington Times reports that Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake apologized to the family of a man who was turned away from the Bronx veterans hospital without treatment after he declined to take part in an Alzheimer's disease study.
The 74-year-old Army veteran ended up dying of the human form of Mad Cow disease. Peake offered the apology in a letter he sent to the newspaper.
*The O.P., military jargon for Observation Post, is your one-stop source for all things military in the Tampa Bay area: the latest news from the VA, what's happening at MacDill Air Force Base what's up with local troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Share your thoughts in the comments section and send your story ideas to the author.
William R. Levesque is the St. Petersburg Times military and VA reporter.
In a 20-year journalism career, he has covered Florida agriculture, the
courts, business, police and Pasco county government. He was the Times'
lead reporter in the Terri Schiavo case and also covered the criminal trial
of the Rev. Henry Lyons. He can be reached at 
This is just plane tragic. He goes for help and gets turned away. An apology just doesn't seem like it's enough.
Posted by: Ajlouny | April 18, 2009 at 01:29 AM