The GAO today released a report detailing $15.8 million dollars in property losses due to outright theft between 2004 and 2007. The Indian Health Service (IHS) is grossly mismanaged, according to the report. When they say equipment, they mean stuff like all-terrain vehicles and tractors, Jaws of Life equipment, laptops containing sensitive data (including social security numbers), and digital cameras. We are talking about Caterpillar tractors, folks! Here is my favorite clause in the report….so far:
In addition, IHS has not effectively implemented numerous property policies, including
the proper safeguards for its expensive IT equipment. For example, IHS
disposed over $700,000 worth of equipment because it was “infested with bat
dung.
Bat dung? I’ll say. Where do they store this stuff, in caves? The GAO tells us that the IHS has virtually no system for tracking these items or verifying who has had access to this equipment or has checked it out. This is the tip of the iceberg, too, since the GAO was only able to visit a small sample of the IHS facilities.
The executive summary is so intriguing, you will want to read the whole report, so here is is.
Filed under: Pork
