Hidden Abuse Under the Watchtower
Curl up with Reveal’s top #longreads from 2015
Check out five pieces of our best long-form writing from 2015, as selected by Reveal’s staff.
Dr. David Houlihan
Opiates
VA fires doctor known as ‘Candy Man’
The chief of staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Tomah, Wisconsin — exposed by Reveal for his opiate prescription practices — has been fired, effective Nov. 9.
Benefits
Federal report confirms veteran’s overdose death at Tomah VA hospital
Federal investigators have confirmed that a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs killed Marine Corps veteran Jason Simcakoski, a psychiatric patient at the Tomah, Wisconsin, veterans hospital known as “Candy Land” for its rampant use of opiates.
Opiates
Embattled VA inspector general to resign after calls for his ouster
Department of Veterans Affairs’ Deputy Inspector General Richard Griffin had been under fire for more than a year over problems at VA hospitals, including the overprescription of opiates at the Tomah, Wisconsin, facility dubbed “Candy Land.”
Health Care
See results of government investigations into VA in Tomah, Wisconsin
Our investigation disclosing skyrocketing opiate prescriptions and retaliatory management practices at a VA medical center in Wisconsin touched off a variety of federal and state government investigations.
Health Care
The death of baby Ada Mae and the tragic effects of addicted veterans
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Tomah, Wisconsin, notorious for its skyrocketing rate of opiate prescriptions, has contributed to dozens of tragedies that have affected people other than the veterans taking the drugs.