Marine veteran Jeffrey Duck has received an apology from the Department of Veterans Affairs after he was locked inside a community health clinic in Orange City, Fla.
Duck says he arrived as a walk-in patient at the clinic at 1 p.m. Monday and sat waiting in a consultation room for more than three hours before he realized he was the only person left in the building, according to
WKMG Local 6 News in Deltona, Fla.
"I was apparently left there and forgotten," said Duck.
Worried that he might be accused of theft, Duck used his cellphone to take video of him walking around the lobby, which led to the burglar alarm going off. He then called 911.
He told the operator, "I apparently got left in a VA facility — a medical facility — and the alarm has been going off."
Veterans Affairs apologized to Duck on Tuesday, saying, "We want to apologize to Mr. Duck for his experience yesterday at the Orange City VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic."
"We are looking at our closing procedures and will make changes to ensure that this does not happen again."
Duck said he hopes his ordeal will bring attention to veterans who have suffered long delays while waiting for treatment at VA facilities.
"There's a lot of people with bigger problems than me," he said. "I'm kind of disappointed, really disappointed. There's a lot going on with the VA right now. They're all over the news. Everybody knows what's going on with them."
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