Two senior Veterans Affairs officials step down
In the wake of outrage over lengthy wait times that in some cases lead to deaths, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced the departure the acting undersecretary for health, and the resignation the department's general counsel Wednesday.
Washington
The Department of聽Veterans聽Affairs聽on Wednesday announced the departure of two senior officials in the wake of a scandal over concealed and extensive delays in providing medical care for聽veterans.
Robert Jesse, the current acting undersecretary for health, will complete his four-year term as principal deputy undersecretary for health on July 2, the聽Veterans'聽Affairs聽department said in a statement. In addition, Will Gunn, the department's general counsel, has resigned.
The undersecretary for health leads the programs of the聽Veterans' Health Administration, which runs the sprawling VA health system. Outrage erupted when it became known that officials hid that聽veterans聽were being made to wait for lengthy periods to get primary medical care and that in some cases those delays led to deaths.
At a hearing earlier this month, Jesse had to defend at a hearing of the聽House of Representatives聽VeteransAffairs聽Committee his timing in informing lawmakers about an outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease at a聽veterans' hospital.
Carolyn Clancy, the agency's assistant deputy undersecretary for health, will take his place and be named the interim undersecretary for health, the VA said.
"Dr. Clancy will be charged with the department's top priority - getting聽veterans聽off of wait lists and in to see their doctors," Acting VA Secretary聽Sloan Gibson聽said. "She will also lead our efforts on immediate, national reforms to accelerate access to care and restore trust among our聽veterans."
Obama accepted the resignation of former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki last month over the scandal.
When news of delays first broke,聽Robert Petzel, the undersecretary for health at the time, stepped down.
The agency will conduct a search for a permanent replacement for the health undersecretary post, Gibson said. Obama has also pledged to name a new VA secretary.
Principal Deputy General Counsel聽Tammy Kennedy聽will serve as acting general counsel, the agency said.
Earlier this month the VA said an internal audit found more than 100,000聽veterans聽had been subjected to a wait of 90 days or more for appointments at medical facilities nationwide.
It also found that staff at 76 percent of the facilities surveyed said they had been instructed at least once to misrepresent appointment data. Doctors at VA clinics in聽Phoenix聽have alleged that some 40聽veterans聽died while waiting for care.