Beckley VA Medical Center Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Ex-Veterans Hospital Doctor Sentenced To 25 Years For Molesting Patients

A former doctor at a Veterans Affairs hospital in West Virginia was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday after pleading guilty to federal charges that he molested three male patients and violated their civil rights.

U.S. District Judge Frank Volk sentenced Jonathan Yates, 52, to the prison term and three years of supervised release, prosecutors announced.

Last September, he had pleaded guilty in court filings to three counts of depriving veterans of their civil rights under color of law, which means the crimes were committed while on duty.

Yates worked at the Beckley VA Medical Center as a doctor of osteopathic medicine, which involves hands-on treatments through stretching and massaging. His patients and victims were seeking to manage their chronic pain.

He was arrested in April 2020. A grand jury indicted him a month later.

Yates admitted to rubbing the genitals of two veterans. He temporarily immobilized the two veterans, one by cracking his neck and the other with the use of acupuncture needles, the indictment from May said. He then molested them while they were incapacitated.

Yates also admitted to digitally penetrating a third veteran’s rectum without any medical purpose.

“The sentence today reflects the seriousness of this defendant’s misconduct,” the deputy assistant attorney general of the civil rights division, Gregory Friel, said in a statement. “In a despicable betrayal of his oath, he used his specialized medical knowledge and expertise to sexually abuse his own patients. He has now been held accountable.”

Yates’ attorney did not immediately return an email for comment.

“Yates committed hideous crimes in a hospital room, which should be a sanctuary for patients,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Michael Christman.

The VA is the government’s second-largest department, responsible for 9 million military veterans.

VA Expands Coverage for Veterans Through Urgent Care Clinics

About 40 percent of veterans who receive medical care through the Veterans Health Administration are now covered at urgent care clinics. This expansion of benefits for veterans is part of the Mission Act, which went into effect last month.

Veterans with a service-connected disability used to have to pay out of pocket if they went to an urgent care facility. Now, if veterans have been waiting for care for a long time, or if they live far from a VA hospital, they can receive care through private doctors in their local community.

James McCormick is a veteran in West Virginia, and he’s recently been named the National Junior Vice Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He said the new expansion of benefits could have an especially big impact for veterans in the Mountain State.

“In an area that’s rural, where the distance to a VA is often 100 miles or more, this is actually a really good thing,” McCormick said.

But he said, not many veterans he’s spoken to are aware that they can now use their VA benefits to go to urgent cares.

“It needs to be better communicated. Not all of them know about it. Very few in the mainstream know about it.”

According to a press release from the Beckley VA Medical Center, the new urgent care benefit is meant to give veterans “a convenient way to get treatment for minor injuries and illnesses such as colds, strep throat and pink eye.”

McCormick said that while this new benefit is very helpful, he hopes it doesn’t lead to a funding reduction, or loss of resources for the VA health system.

“We definitely don’t want that to distract or take away from the support or the funding of the existing medical system that we have in place. It’s very important to us as veterans that we have that,” McCormick said.

He said that overall, he’s been happy with the care he’s received through the VA. He suffers from chronic pain, a result of multiple gunshot wounds he received while in Iraq, and when he decided to get away from taking opioids, he was able to treat his pain with a specialized alternative type of pain management therapy at the VA in Huntington.

These types of innovative, alternative therapies are what he hopes the VA will continue to put resources into in the future, as well as increased access to local care, so veterans aren’t having to wait to receive medical care.

“So that’s why I was real excited to see this, you know, giving them access to an urgent care system, a local doctor, someone that they could go to and get assistance right away, I think that’s a good step in the right direction, but we still have a few more steps we have to take.”

Although the VA Mission Act passed through Congress with bipartisan support, some Democratic lawmakers say they hope it won’t set a precedent for more privatization of the VA medical system.

VA Medical Centers Host Workshop for Faith Leaders on Suicide Prevention

Next month, the Beckley, Clarksburg and Huntington VA Medical Centers are hosting a joint outreach training event for West Virginia spiritual leaders to learn about veteran suicide prevention.

The workshop will be held Tuesday, July 31st. at the West Virginia Capitol Complex. Called Operation S.A.V.E., the program is a one hour training provided by the VA suicide prevention team. The training focuses on signs of suicide, asking about suicide, validating feelings, encouraging help and expediting treatment.

The joint training comes after a March training in Beckley for spiritual leaders that a VA press release says received positive feedback. The press release says training faith communities about suicide prevention is important because spiritual leaders impact many veterans’ lives in a hands on way.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Marshall Health, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

"Whole Health" VA Wellness Center Opening in Beckley

The Beckley VA Medical Center is opening a new Whole Health Wellness Center Wednesday as part of its 12th annual Health Fair. The new facility is centered on a more holistic approach to health care representing a “fundamental re-envisioning and redesign in the philosophy and practice of healthcare delivery for our Veterans,” according to a press release.

The Wellness Center will offer health-focused classes and alternative approaches to healthy living including space for yoga, tai-chi, meditation, several other innovative therapies.

The Health Fair will have more than 35 vendors, including Acupressure, YMCA, Body Works, Blind Rehab, Fresenius, Hospice of Southern West Virginia, and Hospices Compasses.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Marshall Health, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

Beckley VA Investigated for Substitution of Mental Health Drugs

An investigation has found the Beckley VA Medical Center improperly substituted mental health treatments with older drugs to save money.

In a Wednesday news release, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel says it informed the White House and Congress that the hospital put patients at risk and violated VA policy.

A whistleblower reported issues, and the VA Office of Medical Inspector investigated.

The office’s report recommended the hospital stop the practice that aimed to save money in the 2013 budget year. It said a non-physician shouldn’t head the hospital’s Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.

The hospital agreed to review medical records and conditions of patients discontinued from the antipsychotic drugs.

The report recommends that hospital leadership face disciplinary action.

A hospital spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

VA Clinic to Close Because of Air Quality Issues

A clinic that serves veterans in West Virginia and Virginia has closed again because of air quality issues.

The Beckley VA Medical Center announced the indefinite closure of the Greenbrier County Community Based Outpatient Clinic on Monday. Veterans served by the clinic in Maxwelton will have to travel to the hospital for care.

Hospital director Karin McGraw says air quality tests found formaldehyde levels above the recommended exposure limit in several parts of the clinic.

She also says several employees have continued to report air quality issues.

The clinic has been closed three times since June 2014 because of air quality.

The clinic serves about 2,400 veterans in Greenbrier, Monroe, Pocahontas and Summers counties in West Virginia, and in Alleghany County, Virginia.