Federal Reports

The OIG investigated allegations that the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Wyoming State Office (WYSO) had entered into an unneeded contract for oil-and-gas-record digitization services, had improperly selected the contractor, and had improperly carried the funds for the digitization project across fiscal years. We also investigated an allegation that WYSO had not received proper compensation for record copying and other clerical services it had performed for an oil and gas company.Our investigation did not substantiate these allegations. The BLM Washington (DC) Office had encouraged WYSO and other state offices to identify high-value records, which included WYSO’s oil and gas records, and to begin digitizing them to improve record retention and reduce costs for storing physical records. WYSO used a contractor that was competitively selected by the U.S. Government Publishing Office to provide scanning and digitization services to multiple Federal agencies. We confirmed that WYSO had carried funds used for this project across fiscal years, but we learned that it had the authority to do so and used the appropriate financial mechanism. We also confirmed that WYSO was paid for the copies and the other services it provided to the oil and gas company.

The objective of this audit was to determine whether internal controls were in place and effective over the management of the Gold Tree Contract Postal Unit (CPU) by the Sarasota, FL, Main Post Office. The OIG uses data analytics to evaluate the Postal Service’s financial information. Host Administrative Offices (HAO) are required to conduct counts of the CPU stamp stock at least once a year. The data analytics identified that the HAO for the Gold Tree CPU (the Sarasota Main Post Office) did not record a stamp stock count for fiscal year (FY) 2017. The last recorded stamp count was completed in October 2015. We confirmed a stamp stock count had not been conducted in two years. The OIG conducted a count with CPU personnel during our site visit.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP) Circular, Accounting of Drug Control Funding and Performance Summary, requires National Drug Control Program agencies to submit to the ONDCP Director, not later than February 1 of each year, a detailed accounting of all funds expended for National Drug Control Program activities during FY 2017. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a multi-mission bureau, and obligations are reported pursuant to an approved drug methodology. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Domestic Investigations, International Operations (IO) and Office of Intelligence uphold U.S. drug control policy delegated amid the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) initiatives, by fully supporting the overall ICE mandate to detect, disrupt, and dismantle smuggling organizations.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP) Circular, Accounting of Drug Control Funding and Performance Summary, requires National Drug Control Program agencies to submit to the ONDCP Director, not later than February 1 of each year, a detailed accounting of all funds expended for National Drug Control Program activities during FY 2017. This Performance Summary Report contains the performance measures aligned to drug control decision units as required by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Circular: Accounting of Drug Control Funding and Performance Summary, dated January 18, 2013. The drug control decision units are as follows: (1) Salaries and Expenses, (2) Air and Marine Interdiction, Operations, Maintenance, and Procurement and (3) Border Security Fence, Infrastructure and Technology.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a focused evaluation of the quality of care delivered in the inpatient and outpatient settings of the Huntington VA Medical Center (facility). The review covered key clinical and administrative processes associated with promoting quality care—Leadership and Organizational Risks; Quality, Safety, and Value; Medication Management: Anticoagulation Therapy; Coordination of Care: Inter-Facility Transfers; Environment of Care; High-Risk Processes: Moderate Sedation; and Long-Term Care: Community Nursing Home Oversight. OIG also provided crime awareness briefings to 108 employees.The facility’s current leaders have active engagement with employees and patients and are maintaining high satisfaction scores. Organizational leaders support patient safety, quality care, and other positive outcomes (such as initiating processes and plans to maintain positive perceptions of the facility through active stakeholder engagement). OIG’s review of accreditation organization findings, sentinel events, disclosures, Patient Safety Indicator data, and Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL) results did not identify any substantial organizational risk factors. The senior leadership team was knowledgeable of SAIL metrics but should continue to take actions to improve care and performance of selected SAIL metrics, particularly Quality of Care and Efficiency metrics likely contributing to the current 4-star rating.OIG noted findings in four of the clinical operations reviewed and issued seven recommendations that are attributable to the Facility Director, Chief of Staff, Nurse Executive, and Associate Director. The identified areas with deficiencies are:(1) Quality, Safety, and Value (QSV)• QSV Council meeting minutes (2) Coordination of Care: Inter-Facility Transfers• Nurse documentation of transfer assessments/notes• Communication with the accepting facility(3) Environment of Care (EOC)• EOC rounds attendance• Restriction of access to sterile supplies at the representative community based outpatient clinic (CBOC)• Security of biohazardous waste at the representative CBOC (4) Long-Term Care: Community Nursing Home Oversight• Oversight committee representation