State of the VA

• Main Author: Robbins RA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arizona Thoracic Society 2016-01-01
• Series: Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care
• Subjects: VA; Veterans Administration; State of the Union; Barack Obama; Michael Missal; Johnny Isakson; Inspector General; Office of the Inspector General; oversight; Eric Shinseki
• Online Access: http://www.swjpcc.com/editorial/2016/1/15/state-of-the-va.html

No abstract available. Article truncated at 150 words. Earlier this week, President Obama gave his last State of the Union Address. Although this usually is a speech giving the President the opportunity of flaunt his accomplishments, no mention was made of the VA (1). Given the troubles at the VA, there seems little to tout. Over 70% of the VA medical centers were discovered to have falsified wait times (2). Because of the wait scandal, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned and VA undersecretary, Robert Petzel MD, retired under pressure. Ironically, Shinseki, a retired Army general and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was viewed in a favorable light by the current administration because of a spat with the Bush administration's Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, over the number of troops needed to secure Iran and Afghanistan (3). However, during Shinseki's tenure the number of VA "medical troops", doctors and nurses, was insufficient to care for the number …