Accountability
As opioid crisis strains foster care, states aren’t tracking the damage
In states hit hard by the opioid epidemic, directly connecting child removals to a specific drug type is nearly impossible.
opiates
Health Care
Obama signs new opiate safety law for veterans
President Barack Obama has signed sweeping new narcotics reforms into law that dramatically change the way the Department of Veterans Affairs dispenses and monitors dangerous and addictive opiates.
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
Congressional hearing reveals 4 more deaths at Tomah, Wisconsin, VA
A congressional hearing today revealed more unexpected deaths at the Tomah, Wisconsin, VA – known as “Candy Land” for the ease with which narcotic painkillers were prescribed – during Dr. David Houlihan’s decade as the hospital’s chief of staff.
Opiates
Nearly 100,000 veterans prescribed dangerous tranquilizer-opiate combo
Nearly 100,000 veterans currently are receiving prescriptions for both tranquilizers and narcotic painkillers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, a potentially deadly combination that is explicitly discouraged by agency guidelines.
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.
Opiates
Dereliction of duty
In this episode of Reveal, we look at the power of a single photo, a VA doctor accused of handing out opiates to veterans like “candy” and surgery patients who got screwed out of legitimate medical hardware.
Opiates
Who’s responsible when America’s your drug dealer?
Meet the “Candy Man” – the chief of staff at a VA hospital in Tomah, Wisconsin. Hospital staff members say Dr. David Houlihan “hands out narcotics like they’re candy.”
Health Care
Action on the VA’s pain pill habit
On our debut pilot, reporter Aaron Glantz uncovered how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been prescribing highly addictive pain medications at an alarming rate. He returns to the show to discuss how lawmakers might address the spike in opiate prescriptions.