Veterans, staff at VA hospital sound alarm for much-needed repairs

MIAMI – Army veteran Lawrence Bailey was shocked by the conditions he encountered when he went to the Miami VA Medical Center .

"I was on the 10th floor and I saw water, just when it was raining, just leaking. ... They put buckets out there. You know, so it is bad," he said.

Bill Frogameni is a nurse at the VA hospital and the local director of the National Nurses United union.

"There's been leaks, as far as we can tell for several years. But they've been a whole lot worse, I want to say, in the last year," he said.

Frogameni said leaks, like one he filmed in a 12th floor patient room in the medical surgical division, are serious enough to close the area.

"They shut down what's known as 12 CD, one of our medical surgical units, and it's still shut down. To this day that wing is not operational," he said.

Video showed more signs of leaking during last month's heavy rain. Frogameni said it's a problem all over.

"This didn't just happen in the last couple of weeks. There's buckets that have been sitting in parts of the hospital, big garbage cans with hoses from the ceiling, for months and months and months, if not years," Frogameni said.

"We swore to uphold this country and some died," Bailey said of his fellow veterans. "We come here and get treated like that? That's unacceptable."

In an email, the VA stated, "The Miami VA Healthcare System's main hospital has experienced some roof leaks from the sporadic rain storms that have been experienced the past several weeks in the area."

As for the timeline to fix the leaks, the VA said, "Temporary leaks are mitigated as they occur.  The permanent roof repair project should be awarded in the coming weeks."

Frogameni said that in addition to the water damage, "we worry that there could be mold."

"We see this as just a failure to invest in veterans and those of us who care for veterans," he said. "It's incredibly frustrating. I mean, this is a calling for most of us. We take it very, very seriously and it's bad."

CBS News Miami asked the VA when permanent repairs will begin and when the 12th floor medical surgical unit would reopen. The VA had no response.

CBS News Miami requested a tour of the hospital. That request was denied, citing patient privacy and current COVID-19 positivity rates.