Death statistics files altered

Pauline DeWenter, a scheduling clerk for the VA in Phoenix, Arizona, reveals that files were altered to change the number of deaths of veterans who died while awaiting care.  She also states that she was in charge of handling a “secret waiting list”  containing the names of veterans who were waiting for care, some of which waited months for care or received no care at all.  This is the first time DeWenter has spoken publicly about the Phoenix VA scandal.

“Deceased” notes on files were removed to make statistics look better, so veterans would not be counted as having died while waiting for care