WASHINGTON, DC — In the event of an emergency that causes traditional communication networks to fail, many VA facilities would be unable to talk to each other, despite the department having spent millions of dollars on an emergency communications network, according to a VA Office of the Inspector General report.
Investigators found that, without this network up and running, necessary services could be disrupted, and veterans’ and employees’ health and safety could be put at risk.
In January 2015, VA awarded a 5-year contract for the creation and installation of a resilient high-frequency radio network (RHFRN), which would enable radio-to-telephone communications in the event of an emergency. The deadline for the project was January 2020.
In March 2020, OIG received a complaint that, not only was the RHFRN not functional, there also was alleged waste, fraud and abuse in the implementation of the contract. While a subsequent OIG audit did not discover intentional fraud, it did find that, since the network was inoperable at a majority of VA facilities, the department had essentially wasted the $8.5 million it had spent on the contract.
A VA survey completed in July 2021 found only about 60% of VA sites had an operational RHFRN. However, a sampling of 21 sites by OIG investigators found only four with a functioning emergency communications network.
Investigators discovered multiple reasons for this, including: equipment for radio operation being missing or needing service; the radio transmissions being unable to be heard; and the absence of staff at the facility who could operate the equipment.
“The audit team found that the RHFRN was inoperable nationwide because of inadequate acceptance, installation, system support and oversight by various personnel throughout VA,” the OIG report states.
The investigation found that VA’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) had not overseen the installation of the network properly and uncovered no evidence that OEM provided instructions or guidance to facilities about asset delivery and acceptance.
The contract required a demonstration of operability at each site by the OEM area emergency manager or their designee. But in many cases, personnel tasked with overseeing that installation were not designated by OEM and were unaware of the installation’s requirements. Others did not actually observe the contractor testing the system at all.
In addition, at many facilities, employees were not properly trained on the system.
“An employee at the Marion VA Medical Center in Illinois described the training as watching a contractor’s representative try to make a call. A Lee County VA Clinic employee described the training as a lecture and demonstration rather than hands-on training, and an employee at the Omaha VA Medical Center in Nebraska stated the training focused on high-frequency radio theory rather than on how to answer or accept calls,” the report states.
Only staff at the Martinsburg and Vancouver facilities reported receiving any training on maintenance or troubleshooting, and staff at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center stated that the maintenance training consisted of ensuring the unit was plugged in.
There also was confusion around which office within VA was ultimately responsible for the network after its installation. OEM leaders believed the program was transferred to the Office of Operations, Security and Preparedness (OSP) in 2019 and sent emails to VA facilities informing them of that.
However, the auditors found no documentation detailing that transfer. Also, the VA directive requiring the RHFRN be created states that OEM was responsible not only for installation but also for its ongoing maintenance.
Because of this confusion, VA never obtained a maintenance contract after the initial one expired in January 2020, and local staff at several facilities have been unable to maintain their radios on their own.
At the time of the OIG audit, VA was considering entering into a second contract to assess, repair and maintain the RHFRN. That process has since been halted.
“The new OEM director, who assumed the role in February 2022, halted the RHFRN contracting process pending a thorough review of the program requirements, capabilities, gaps, and purpose,” the OIG report notes. “In October 2022, the OEM director stated the solicitation process for a new RHFRN maintenance contract was canceled in April 2022, and a thorough review of requirements is still in process.”