Anna Chacko Kept VA Job After Intervention By N.C. Dem — The head of radiology at the Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Health System had her job saved by North Carolina Congressman Brad Miller (D-NC13).
Why?
Dr. Anna Chacko was hired in October 2008 or, according to Miller, September 2008. Previously, she had headed the radiology department at St. James Hospital in Butte, Mt., a job she left after 15 months in which she left the department in turmoil and was prominently named in at least four lawsuits, according to Mike Volpe at BigGovernment.Com.
Before that she spent a year at the Boston University until she was removed after complaints of sexual harassment to the human resources department, according to Volpe.
And before that she spent six years at Lahey Clinic in the Boston suburb of Burlington before being fired after which security reportedly had to forcibly carry her out while Dr. Chacko — who is of Indian descent — screamed “Kiss my big Indian Ass,” according to Volpe.
Well, in March ’09 the Pittsburgh VA had convened an administrative investigative board regarding Dr. Chacko and the expectation was that she would lose her job after just five months. A lawyer got Dr. Chacko some breathing room when he convinced the powers-that-be that she was denied due process, and a new hearing was scheduled for May 21.
It never convened, however, due to this letter from Miller to Gen. Erick Shinseki, the secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the word was passed to stop the attempts to remove Dr. Chacko.
Dr. Chacko was ordered to complete an anger management course and she returned to work Aug. 1. Complaints resumed, however, and in October she was placed on indefinite administrative leave. A formal notice of termination has been issued to her effective Jan. 25.
So why did a North Carolina congressmen intervene in this matter and how did Dr. Chacko get the job in the first place?
Volpe has contacted Miller for a response, and Miller has declined to give him one.