Healthcare Facility Inspection of the VA Maine Healthcare System in Augusta

VA Office of Inspector General · Report 25-00244-289 · October 5, 2026 · Office of Healthcare Inspections

What the OIG found

OIG inspected the Maine system in Augusta from July 29 through 31, 2025, with follow-up contacts in January and July 2026, reviewing a mid-high-complexity facility that provided direct care to more than 44,000 veterans in fiscal year 2025 across five domains: culture, environment of care, patient safety, integrated veteran care, and the veteran-centered safety net. Both recommendations came from patient safety and concerned test results: the facility’s test result communication policy did not align with VHA Directive 1088(1), it lacked service-level workflows explaining staff responsibilities in notifying patients, and its acting Chief of Staff and Associate Director for Patient and Nursing Services had not developed improvement actions after learning that providers were not communicating test results within required time frames. No recommendations arose in the other four domains. OIG recommended the Chief of Staff and nursing executive create the missing workflows, update the policy to match the directive, and act on external peer review data to improve how providers communicate test results to patients.

Who it concerns

VA Maine Healthcare System in Augusta

Why it matters to a family

For families, this is about waiting for answers: when a facility has no clear workflow for who tells a veteran their test results, and leaders do not act on known delays, families can be left chasing results that should have come to them.

The official report

The OIG’s report page · Full report (PDF)

Summary ours; the report is the OIG’s. Read it at vaoig.gov →