Records: Veterans Affairs loses $1M in medical equipment

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Inventory records show Veterans Affairs medical facilities across Ohio have lost track of more than $1.1 million worth of medical equipment over three years.

WBNS-TV reports VA medical centres in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton and Chillicothe all lost equipment between 2014 and 2017.

The missing items include iPads, a $28,000 bedside monitor and a $12,000 stretcher.

Some facilities continued to lose items even after the VA in Ohio spent nearly $24 million on tracking technology. The contractor for the technology has not responded to requests for comment.

Cincinnati VA spokesman Greg Goins says Ohio facilities have stopped buying tracking technology.

When asked if taxpayer dollars are being wasted, he said officials “aren’t going to allow that to happen.”

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Information from: WBNS-TV, http://www.10tv.com/