MARION - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin described his Friday visit to the Marion VA Medical Center as "frustrating."

After meeting with staff members and speaking with their bosses in Washington, he said the VA's response to major medical concerns at the hospital is painstakingly slow and unacceptable.

He added that he has received conflicting reports from both Washington and Marion.

"It has all the earmarks of a bureaucratic slowdown," Durbin said. "But if they think they're going to wait me out, they're wrong."

Durbin said it's been seven months since inpatient surgeries were discontinued and two full months since the Office of the Inspector General identified problems at the facility and made recommendations to rectify those problems. In that time, there has been little change.

Durbin said he wants the VA "to get it right" and get the surgical unit reopened as soon as possible, but progress should be more noticeable by now. The senator said he wants to emphasize the hospital's importance to hundreds of families in Southern Illinois and surrounding states.

"And there are hundreds of employees here who are frustrated, too," Durbin said. "These are hardworking people who have made sacrifices to help veterans. The overwhelming majority of them are doing their job and doing it well."

Durbin added that it's imperative that the VA closely monitor its physician candidates and make sure they are properly credentialed for the job.

Tanya Peckinpaugh, 62, of Marion, told Durbin she feels she was mistreated at the Marion hospital.

"I was here June 1 of last year when I had a hysterectomy performed by Dr. (Jose Veizaga) Mendez," Peckinpaugh said. "I developed a bad infection a few days later and still have pain to this day."

Peckinpaugh said Veizaga-Mendez, who soon thereafter resigned his position at the hospital and eventually lost his license to practice medicine in Illinois, referred her to his physician's assistant.

"I just don't think Dr. Mendez was forthright with me, and I feel I was mistreated," said Peckinpaugh, an Army veteran. "I've hired a lawyer."

- John Homan