Reports

Department of Veterans Affairs OIG

Care in the Community Consult Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center in West Virginia

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a healthcare inspection at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center (facility) in West Virginia to assess allegations of failure to schedule a Care in the Community (CITC) COVID Priority 1 cardiology consult within Veterans Health Administration requirements, and delays in CITC consult scheduling caused by inadequate CITC staffing. The OIG substantiated that a COVID Priority 1 CITC cardiology consult was not scheduled within 30 days of the clinically indicated date. The OIG determined that the consult was amongst a backlog of approximately 5,000...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Education OIG

Missouri’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant

The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the State of Missouri (Missouri) designed and implemented awarding processes that ensured that the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER grant) was used to support local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) that were most significantly impacted by the coronavirus or LEAs, IHEs, or other education-related entities within the State that were deemed essential for carrying out emergency educational services; and monitoring processes to ensure that subgrantees used GEER grant funds in accordance with...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 2/10/2022

Department of Education OIG

The Department’s Implementation of CARES Act Flexibilities to TEACH Grant Service Obligations

The objective of our review was to evaluate the Department of Education’s plans and processes to ensure Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grantees receive full-time credit toward their service obligations for part-time and temporarily interrupted service due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). We found weaknesses in FSA’s development and implementation of plans and processes to ensure TEACH grantees receive full-time credit towards their service obligations for part-time or temporarily interrupted service due to COVID-19. Additionally, we found that FSA...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Inspection / Evaluation | 1/20/2022

Department of Veterans Affairs OIG

Audit of Community Care Consults during COVID-19

During COVID-19, VHA’s Office of Community Care (OCC) took steps to ensure veterans continued to have expanded access to health care in the community, as required by the VA MISSION Act of 2018. OCC issued policies to VA facilities to postpone nonurgent appointments and offer alternatives to in-person care, such as telehealth. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted this audit to determine whether VHA effectively managed community care consults for routine appointments during the pandemic. The OIG found that routine community care consults were unscheduled for an average of 42 days...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Veterans Affairs OIG

Systems and Tools Implemented to Track COVID-19 Vaccine Data

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) examined whether the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) implemented data collection and reporting systems to report on the supply of COVID-19 vaccines to VA medical facilities and doses administered to VA employees and veterans enrolled in VA’s healthcare system (approximately 9.5 million individuals). Although essential for national reporting, tracking VA vaccine data is difficult because VA does not have a centralized national pharmacy inventory management system to track vaccine supply at facilities. Although VHA staff swiftly developed data...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Veterans Affairs OIG

Deficiencies in Select Community Care Consult (Stat) Processes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a national review of stat community care consults generated during the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic to evaluate consult processes. Patient involvement in care urgency disagreements and reporting of adverse events in community care were also reviewed. When the OIG identified deficiencies in processes, electronic health records (EHRs) of the patients at issue were further examined for potential negative outcomes. The OIG did not identify any negative care outcomes. For the 2,236 stat community care consults generated from March 20, 2020...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Education OIG

Remington College’s Use of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Student Aid and Institutional Grants

The objective of our audit was to determine if Remington College used the Student Aid (Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425E) and Institutional (ALN 84.425F) portions of its Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grant funds for allowable and intended purposes. Remington College generally used the Student Aid portion of its HEERF grant funds for allowable and intended purposes but did not always use the Institutional portion of its funds in accordance with Federal requirements. We found that Remington College spent Institutional funds for several unallowable purposes and did not...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/28/2021

2.1 - Open

Require Remington College to return to the Department the $80,121 in Institutional grant funds spent beyond the supplemental Institutional grant period or reallocate the funds to other allowable costs.

2.2 - Open

Clarify whether the costs that Remington College initially charged to its Institutional grant for student computers were allowable under the law and existing guidance, and determine whether Remington College’s subsequent reallocation of costs for other expenses in the amount of $64,985 (corrective actions) was appropriate.

2.3 - Open

Determine whether the $639,400 that Remington College charged to its Institutional grant for contracts awarded without a competitive procurement process was reasonable when compared to the quality and costs of suitable alternatives, and if not, require appropriate corrective actions.

2.4 - Open

Require Remington College to incorporate in its policies and procedures for managing HEERF grant funds the Federal requirements related to charging only allowable costs during the grant performance period, using competitive processes for selecting vendors when purchases are over $10,000, obtaining price or rate quotations from an adequate number of qualified vendors for purchases between $10,000 and $250,000, and using formal procurement methods for purchases over $250,000.

2.5 - Open

Require Remington College to ensure that school officials responsible for making purchasing decisions receive sufficient training on Federal rules and regulations related to grant administration and management.

3.1 - Open

Require Remington College to incorporate in its policies and procedures for managing Institutional grant funds the Federal cash management requirements related to minimizing the time between drawing down and spending Federal grant funds, including HEERF funds; maintaining the funds in an interest-bearing account; and remitting interest earned in excess of $500 in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b).

3.2 - Open

Require Remington College to incorporate in its policies and procedures for managing Student Aid grant funds the Federal cash management requirements related to maintaining the funds in an interest-bearing account and remitting interest earned in excess of $500 in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b).

3.3 - Open

Determine whether Remington College accurately calculated interest and ensure that the correct amount of interest is returned to the Federal government in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b)(9).

Department of Veterans Affairs OIG

Failure to Mitigate Risk of and Manage a COVID-19 Outbreak at a Community Living Center at VA Illiana Health Care System in Danville, Illinois

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an inspection at the VA Illiana Health Care System in Danville, Illinois, to determine the validity of allegations, specific to COVID-19 and the Community Living Center (CLC), of failure to observe infection control practices, failure to minimize risk of exposure to COVID-19, inconsistent ongoing testing, and failure to notify residents, families, and staff of positive test results. During the inspection, the OIG identified concerns related to leaders’ post-outbreak actions. The OIG substantiated a failure to observe general infection control...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Veterans Affairs OIG

Care Concerns and the Impact of COVID-19 on a Patient at the Fayetteville VA Coastal Health Care System in North Carolina

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a healthcare inspection at the Fayetteville VA Coastal Health Care System in North Carolina to assess concerns related to the quality, coordination, and timeliness of care, and the impact of COVID-19 on a patient with unintentional weight loss who was later diagnosed with oral cancer and died at another VA medical center. The OIG substantiated that the primary care provider and dietitians did not provide quality care to the patient. The primary care provider’s failure to follow-up on an earlier finding and not place an order for a medical test...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Department of Education OIG

Lincoln College of Technology’s Use of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Student Aid and Institutional Grants

The objective of our audit was to determine whether Lincoln College of Technology (Lincoln) used the Student Aid (Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425E) and Institutional (ALN 84.425F) portions of its Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) funds for allowable and intended purposes. We also reviewed Lincoln’s cash management practices and the timeliness and quality of the data Lincoln reported on its use of HEERF funds. LESC generally used the Student Aid portion of Lincoln’s HEERF funds for allowable and intended purposes but did not always use the Institutional portion of its funds...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/24/2021

1.1 - Closed

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education require LESC to update its written policies and procedures to contain sufficient detail to ensure that (1) all the steps necessary to verify student eligibility and distribute funds to students under the CARES Act and subsequent coronavirus legislations are addressed and completed, (2) funding determinations are adequately documented and supported in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.302, and (3) students with exceptional need are prioritized in accordance with CRRSAA and ARP.

2.1 - Closed

Regarding LESC’s decision to reallocate the amounts we questioned in this finding, we recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education review the reallocated funds and determine whether LESC’s use of $710,274 of Lincoln’s Institutional grant funds to write off unpaid accounts receivable for students, who withdrew from the school due to coronavirus, was allowable and for the intended purposes of applicable coronavirus relief legislation.

2.2 - Closed

If LESC’s reallocation of Lincoln’s Institutional grant funds is deemed unallowable, we recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary require LESC to return to the Department the $700,155 of Lincoln’s Institutional grant funds that LESC improperly applied to credit student accounts for rent students paid to third-party landlords and the $9,838 that LESC improperly spent for subscriptions extending beyond the grant performance period and determine if these issues occurred at LESC’s other schools and take corrective action as appropriate.

3.1 - Closed

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education require LESC to incorporate in its policies and procedures the cash management requirements for minimizing the time between drawing down and disbursing Federal grant funds, including HEERF funds, maintaining the funds in an interest-bearing account, and remitting interest earned more than $500 in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b).

3.2 - Closed

We recommend that the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education determine whether LESC accurately calculated interest and properly remitted the interest returned in January 2021, in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.305(b)(9).

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State/Local Agency

State (State and Local Reports)

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Management Challenges

Any Recommendations

Any Open Recommendations

Reports

Care in the Community Consult Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic at the Martinsburg VA Medical Center in West Virginia

Missouri’s Administration of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund Grant

The Department’s Implementation of CARES Act Flexibilities to TEACH Grant Service Obligations

Audit of Community Care Consults during COVID-19

Systems and Tools Implemented to Track COVID-19 Vaccine Data

Deficiencies in Select Community Care Consult (Stat) Processes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Remington College’s Use of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Student Aid and Institutional Grants

Failure to Mitigate Risk of and Manage a COVID-19 Outbreak at a Community Living Center at VA Illiana Health Care System in Danville, Illinois

Care Concerns and the Impact of COVID-19 on a Patient at the Fayetteville VA Coastal Health Care System in North Carolina

Lincoln College of Technology’s Use of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Student Aid and Institutional Grants

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