Alabama VA Clinic may be part of national scandal

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An email to employees says an audit will show that a central Alabama veterans health care center falsified records to hide evidence of patients waiting too long to receive care. The Montgomery Advertiser reported this weekend that Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System director James Talton disclosed the broad findings of the nationwide audit to be released Monday. His email says the Alabama facility is one of 84 named for unethical practices. Alabama Republican U.S. Rep. Martha Roby says she met Friday with Talton and he says when he discovered the discrepancies, he fired employees responsible. Allegations about treatment delays of up to three months at Veterans Affairs hospitals and secret waiting lists across the country have surfaced over the past few weeks. Roby says "it is disgusting and infuriating" that such behavior was happening in central Alabama.