An Investigation Into Wisconsin's VA 'Candy Land'

A yearlong investigation into painkiller abuse at Wisconsin’s Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center is scheduled to be released Tuesday.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has headed the investigation on the facility, which has been called “Candy Land” by some veterans because doctors there were said to easily prescribe painkillers. This report is a follow up to one conducted in 2014 by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, which found that over-prescribing painkillers may have led to three deaths.

The Military Times reported:

The VA probe also determined there was an atmosphere of fear among staff members, which affected patient care, and that those who spoke out were subject to intimidation.

Several Tomah VA officials — including former director Mario Desanctis and former chief of staff David Houlihan — have since been fired. Houlihan was nicknamed "candy man" by some patients for allegedly handing out excess narcotics.

The facility has been at the center of political attack ads during the U.S. Senate race between Republican Ron Johnson and Democrat Russ Feingold, who have blamed each other for ignoring the issue during their terms in the U.S. Senate. In 2011 Feingold lost his seat to Johnson, who now heads the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the committee leading the investigation.