The chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs was “downright maddened” by reports of a veteran being bitten by ants over 100 times in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital and demanded answers.
Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) — the soon-to-retire senior senator from the Peach State — said in a Thursday statement that he was “shocked, horrified, and downright maddened” by local reports of a man, Vietnam War veteran Joel Marrabel, being found covered in ants twice while he was being treated for cancer at the Eagles Nest Community Living Center in Decatur, Georgia.
“I am shocked, horrified and downright maddened by the news that a veteran under the care of the VA was treated so poorly and without any regard for his wellbeing. This patient, at the end of his life, was clearly not being monitored closely enough, and I am so sad for his family who had to discover his insect-infested conditions before anything was reportedly done.”
Isakson added that he had spoken to Deputy Secretary of the VA James Byrne to get answers for the report.
“I have spoken with Deputy Secretary Byrne to demand answers and express my dissatisfaction across all levels of the VA for allowing this to occur and for failing to inform Congress about this incident until just hours before news broke,” wrote the Georgia Republican. – READ MORE