VA Secretary visits Marion MARION, IL (wsiu) - The Secretary of Veterans Affairs says he's ready to move forward at the Marion VA Medical Center... nearly a year after surgeries were halted there after nine patient deaths.

Doctor James Peake told a town hall meeting Saturday he's confident in the new administrative team in place and hopes rank-and-file workers will feel the same.

Workers told investigators they were afraid to tell anyone about problems they saw...and a panel found a pattern of intimidation was in place at the time of the deaths.

Another major problem was found in one doctor... Jose Vizaga-Mendez... who had surrendered his license due to malpractice claims in another state before coming to Marion.

US Senator Dick Durbin says that simply cannot happen again.
Durbin and others say they'll be keeping a close eye on the Marion VA and will stand behind any employee who brings a legitimate concern to their attention.

Major surgery has not yet resumed at Marion. It was halted after the deaths came to light late last year. Secretary Peake says he hopes to make progress on restoring those services by the end of this year.

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