Reports

While reviewing the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) plans to document receipt and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) determined that VHA facilities did not consistently document the COVID-19 vaccination status of veterans living in VA’s Community Living Centers (CLCs). The OIG determined that VHA could not know at a national level whether the vaccine was offered to some CLC residents, and if so, what their status was. Because CLC residents are in the highest COVID-19 vaccine priority group, they should be offered the vaccine, when possible...

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed community-based outpatient clinic (CBOC) closures that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic to evaluate the impact on patient care. The OIG virtually interviewed Veterans Health Administration (VHA) staff at 140 facilities that oversaw the 1,031 CBOCs that were operational prior to the World Health Organization’s pandemic declaration. Of these CBOCs, 173 were closed to face-to-face visits on or after February 1, 2020. Reasons for closure fell into four categories including (a) safety of patients and staff, (b) need for consolidation of...

This snapshot presents a summary of pandemic-related impacts to 30 of the Agency's major programs and projects at the end of fiscal year 2020 with an estimated impact of approximately $1.6 billion of the $3 billion total in COVID impact reported by NASA.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), has completed a survey of the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on HUD’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grantees. Our objective was to determine the challenges that HUD and its CDBG-DR grantees are experiencing related to the COVID-19 pandemic and to help inform the Office of Community Planning and Development and Congress on the issues faced in responding to the pandemic. HUD’s CDBG-DR grantees across the country reported facing similar...

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program (CHIP) report provides a focused evaluation of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 10 and 20 facilities’ COVID-19 pandemic readiness and response. This evaluation focused on emergency preparedness; supplies, equipment, and infrastructure; staffing; access to care; community living center patient care and operations; and facility staff feedback. The OIG has aggregated findings on COVID-19 preparedness and responsiveness from routine inspections to ensure prompt dissemination of information given the...

We prepared this memorandum to provide the Office of Housing at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with key considerations from prior audits of the HUD Single Family Default Monitoring System (SFDMS) and the partial claim loss mitigation option. These audits identified HUD’s lack of effective controls to ensure that lenders reported default information accurately and in a timely manner, lenders promptly filed and reported partial claims, and partial claims fully reinstated delinquent loans. Prior audits also identified that the current design of partial claims results...

This management advisory memo identifies potential risks associated with the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) efforts to expedite adding new staff to meet increased demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) recognizes the tremendous pressure to quickly hire staff to meet unprecedented needs. To achieve VHA’s goal of bringing all new employees on duty within three days of making a tentative offer, VHA has modified or deferred tasks such as fingerprinting, background investigations, drug testing, credentialing, and preplacement physicals. The...

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review to assess Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) virtual primary care response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the use of virtual care by primary care providers and their perceptions of VA Video Connect (VVC) between February 7 and June 16, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges to health care delivery worldwide. One strategy initiated by VHA, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to social distance, included expanding the delivery of primary care via virtual care...

The objective of our inspection was to determine (1) whether selected institutions receiving funds under the Institutional Portion of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) met public reporting requirements and (2) the reported usage of the Institutional Portion of HEERF by selected institutions. We determined that 81 of the 100 institutions included in our sample complied with Institutional Portion reporting requirements. We were unable to locate Institutional Portion reports anywhere on the websites associated with 19 of the 100 (19 percent) institutions included in our sample.

The spread of COVID-19 drastically increased the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, gloves, and gowns, and significantly disrupted the global supply chain. As the nation’s largest integrated healthcare system, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) had to compete for PPE for its personnel and patients. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) received hotline allegations that VHA medical facilities could not acquire and maintain enough PPE to keep pace with escalating needs. The OIG assessed how VHA reported and monitored PPE supply levels during the pandemic. The...