Poker run raises funds for Haley House

The Riverview Detachment of the Marine Corps League is raising money to help families of injured or sick veterans undergoing treatment at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa.

The league hosts its second annual poker run Sept. 27 in support of the Haley House, which provides hotel rooms and other services to families of patients at the hospital.

For the uninitiated, a poker run is a scavenger hunt, with a twist. Riders pick up a playing card at each stop along the way, and prizes are awarded at the end for the best hand.

The ride starts at 11:15 a.m. at American Legion Post No. 148, 7240 Highway 301 in Riverview, and travels along country roads with stops in Thonotosassa, Zephyrhills, Plant City and Ruskin before returning to the American Legion.

Registration starts at 8 a.m. at the Legion. Participants can also register from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Hawg Pound Pub, 38704 Tucker Road, in Zephyrhills, and join the ride there.
The cost is $20 per driver and $5 for riders, which includes dinner afterward. The first 100 registered participants receive a free commemorative T-shirt.

All proceeds go to the Haley House Fund.

Call 967-3150 or 215-3614 for more information, or click here to visit the Haley House fund Web site.

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VA hospitals list hurricane information

Would your local VA clinic be open during a hurricane or other emergency?

You can check local VA Web sites to find out.

The James A. Haley VA Medical Center added a link on its home page to emergency information, designed for use during a natural disaster or other crisis. It tells patients whether the hospital and its satellite clinics are open or closed. It also gives an alternative number for patients to call if the hospital phone system is down: 1-877-741-3400.

Click here to go to the site.

Bay Pines links to the main VA emergency information Web site, which includes links to all Florida VA facilities. Click here for that site, which also features plenty of other useful hurricane information such as tracking maps and lists of local shelters.

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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."

Bilirakis: VA didn't mislead him in death case

Rep. Gus Bilirakis said today the James A. Haley VA Medical Center failed to live up to its high standards in the care it provided to a veteran who died in its care on June 30.

That's what Bilirakis concluded after a meeting with Haley officials late Thursday over the death of veteran Richard Stecher, whose death from an undiagnosed bowel obstruction was detailed by the St. Petersburg Times in an Aug. 8 story.

Bilirakis' spokesman initially said the congressman wouldn't talk about the meeting because of the threat of litigation by Stecher's longtime companion. But later in the day, Bilirakis changed course and decided to comment.

At the meeting, Bilirakis said the Department of Veterans Affairs told him it should have provided a full account of the care Stecher received at the hospital when the Palm Harbor Republican first asked about the case in July.

But a July 24 letter Haley sent to Bilirakis with incomplete details of Stecher's death was an oversight, Bilirakis said, and he is convinced Haley did not lie to him or try to deceive him about Stecher's care.

"It was a complicated case and it should have been handled differently," Bilirakis said. "The thing that concerns me is that they care. We have to make sure this doesn't happen again. So we're going to monitor their care and make sure they follow through on improvements."

Lawyer challenges VA to be more open

The lawyer representing the woman whose longtime companion died at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center on June 30 today challenged the hospital to be more open with the public on patient safety issues.

Largo attorney John Trevena criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs for failing to be forthright with the public about incidents of poor medical care.

His criticism comes as Haley officials are supposed to be meeting with Rep. Gus Bilarakis, who wants some answers about the death of veteran Richard Stecher, 64, of Tarpon Springs. Haley's chief of staff apologized to Stecher's companion after the death and admitted three doctors "missed opportunities" to treat the man.

But the VA refuses to discuss the 4 p.m. meeting , something Trevena said is an outrage. Bilarakis could not immediately be reached for comment, though his staff said it will release information when the meeting is completed.

"The reality is that all the secrecy, in the end, harms the veterans they are suppose to be protecting," said Trevena.

VA refuses again to talk about Haley death

Re. Gus Bilirakis meets today with officials at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa to discuss care given to a Tarpon Springs man who died at the facility in June. Bilirakis' office has confirmed this. But the Department of Veterans Affairs refuses to discuss the meeting or to even confirm who Bilirakis is meeting with. Haley has consistently refused to discuss the death of veteran Richard Stecher, who died after an apparent failure of Haley doctors to promptly diagnose an obstructed bowel. We will update this story through the day as more information becomes available. The Bilirakis meeting is closed to the media and the VA refused even to say what time it will take place.

Bilirakis to meet VA Thursday on death case

Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, is scheduled to meet Thursday with staff at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa. Bilirakis wants to quiz Haley officials about the death of Richard Stecher, 64, who died from a perforated obstructed bowel while in Haley care on June 30. Bilirakis also may hear why Haley did not provide him with a full picture of Stecher care when he previously asked about the case. (See our Aug. 9 story.) A letter Haley had previously sent to Bilirakis left out seemingly critical information about Stecher's case. That included information that Haley's chief of staff had apologized to Stecher's companion over the care Stecher received and that three doctors "missed opportunities"to treat him. Sen. Bill Nelson also is asking about the case, first reported by the St. Petersburg Times earlier this month. But Nelson will not be at Thursday's meeting. (Times photo of Stecher's companion, Mary Nicholl, by Douglas R. Clifford)

Nelson wants answers from VA in death case

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., told the VA in a letter this week that he wants a full accounting of the care provided to a Tarpon Springs man who died at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa.

In a letter to Haley director Stephen Lucas, Nelson pointed to an article by the St. Petersburg Times last week which said the Department of Veterans Affairs left out critical information about the care provided to Richard Stecher, 64, when Nelson previously asked about the case.

Stecher died on June 30, apparently from a perforated bowel obstruction that his companion, Mary Nicholl, said the VA was months late in diagnosing. She had complained to Nelson and Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, about Stecher's care in the VA's hands.

But after Nelson and Bilirakis asked the VA about the case, the VA failed to tell them it had apologized to Nicholl about the care Stecher received and that the agency had acknowledge three doctors "missed opportunities" to treat Stecher.

Media-savvy lawyer hired in Haley death case

Prominent Tampa Bay attorney John Trevena has been retained to represent the woman whose longtime companion died on June 30th while being treated by the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa.

The companion, Mary Nicholl, has been frustrated by what she sees as stonewalling by the Department of Veterans Affairs in the death of Richard Stecher, 64, of a perforated bowel obstruction.

The VA, meantime, says it's transparent to families with loved ones in Haley. Nicholl said Haley's chief of staff apologized to her for the care that Stecher received and told her three different doctors missed opportunities to treat Stecher.

Whoever is correct, one thing is certain: Trevena's hiring may assure that we haven't heard the last of the case.

Woman gets apology for death at Haley

A 63-year-old Tarpon Springs woman got an apology from the chief of staff at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa last month. Her companion of 19 years died at the facility on June 30, primarily as a result of a perforated bowel obstruction. The Department of Veterans Affairs told her at a July 23 meeting that it missed opportunities to treat the man, Richard Stecher, during two months leading up to his death. The VA refused to discuss specifics of the case. But in documents, the VA said Stecher should have been admitted to the hospital after an April CAT scan. Instead, he wasn't admitted until June 27, when emergency surgery to save his life ultimately proved unsuccessful.