Roughly 170 physicians, researchers, psychologists, and other health workers have signed an open letter warning of the consequences from the drastic budget cuts, reduction of “core” medical staff, and outsourcing at the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). The open letter is titled the “Lincoln Declaration,” based on Abraham Lincoln’s March 4, 1865 Second Inaugural Address, which committed the nation “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan,” which became the foundation for the VA’s mission.
Thousands of “core” healthcare professionals at the Department of Veterans Affairs have been forced out, have quit, or taken early retirement in the last six months. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins is committed to eliminating 30,000 employees, but has insisted that he would not touch medical professionals. However, according to an August 12 report from the Office of the Inspector General, since the beginning of this fiscal year, the VA has lost 2,000 registered nurses, some 1,300 medical assistants, 1,100 nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses, 800 doctors, 500 social workers and 150 psychologists. The report states that 94% of VA facilities faced a “severe” shortage of doctors, while 79% faced a “severe” shortage of nurses. The agency wrote that without these core healthcare workers, “mission-critical work cannot be completed.” Healthcare workers have said that these shortages have created unsafe conditions for the patients while nurses are forced to treat conditions for which they were never trained, take responsibility for more patients, and work more overtime hours.
