Cheyenne VA Looks to Rebuild Trust After Scandal

The Cheyenne VA Medical Center is working to rebuild trust as it tries to move past a patient scheduling scandal that rocked the facility last year.

"There were a lot of media attacks and a lot of issues that were brought to light, but I will tell you we became a better organization because of it," said Public Affairs Officer Sam House.

Former Director Cynthia McCormack, who retired on October 31, was one of several supervisors in Cheyenne who were accused of manipulating records, telling subordinates to manipulate records and withholding accurate information in order to meet a requirement that patients be seen within 14 days of scheduling an appointment.

"Under no circumstances did she leave because of that," said House. "We're looking at that as the past."

Paul Roberts was named Interim Director of the VA following McCormack's departure. He says new and better trained staff has resulted in the facility making great strides in solving its problems.

"Things have improved here," said House. "We have a number of veterans who come to us outside our catchment area from Denver and from Nebraska that have heard a lot of good things about the Cheyenne VA and that really has to go toward the staff."