June 7, 2016 Report No. 14-04435-265.  Mental Health Service Concerns at the Knoxville VA Outpatient Clinic James H. Quillen VA Medical Center Mountain Home, Tennessee. As a result of the 2-year long investigation, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VAOIG) substantiated three (3) major mental health deficiencies at the Knoxville Outpatient Clinic.

The VAOIG recommended that the Facility Director improve processes for communicating with community-based consumer-run groups that provide mental health services to veterans enrolled at the Knoxville VA Outpatient Clinic.The VISN 9 Network Director John Patrick and the acting Mountain Home VAMC Facility Director Dan Snyder concurred with the finding and recommendations in the report.  Mr. Synder’s January 4, 2016 memorandum stated “I concur with the findings and recommendations of this Office of Inspector General report. We had already been actively working to improve or enhance these areas and welcome the “fresh eyes” perspective provided by this report.”

This forged the development of a true partnership between the VA and the Council. Click here to view the full VAOIG report.  The Council prepared a written response to the report on July 14, 2016 and submitted it the VA Secretary Robert McDonald et al.  Click here to view the Council’s response and click here to view the letter to the Secretary.