Linda Springer, a former OMB and OPM appointee, is serving as the senior advisor to the director for management.
On the personnel front, the Trump administration had an up-and-down week. The departure of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and the withdrawal of Labor Secretary Andrew Puzder set Washington abuzz. But the Senate confirmed Michael Mulvaney as director of the Office of Management and Budget, Steve Mnuchin as Treasury secretary, and Dr. David Shulkin as VA secretary.
David Shulkin, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, earned high praise from the Senate committee during his nomination hearing. Changing the department's current Veterans Choice Program and crafting new accountability and disciplinary procedures for VA employees were common topics.
Veterans service organizations and the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents roughly 230,000 employees at the Veterans Affairs Department, say the President-elect's nominee to lead the agency is a pleasant surprise. Dr. David Shulkin, the current VA undersecretary for health, should give the agency some continuity during the transition, they said.
President-elect Donald Trump says his choice for VA secretary is David Shulkin, who is currently the department's undersecretary for health.
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee took on the recommendations from the VA Commission on Care's recent report on veterans health care.
One year into a pilot with the Veterans Affairs Innovators Network, the department has made investments into 38 projects and ideas that teams of VA nurses, doctors and other rank-and-file employees have developed at eight medical centers around the country. More than 40 other VA medical centers submitted applications asking to join the Innovators Network.
A new VA center seeks emerging therapies to enhance veterans’ physical and mental well-being.
Leaders at the Veterans Affairs Department pledge to Congress that the money and time they've been given to help overhaul the agency's IT systems will not be in vain.
The Veterans Affairs Department says it’s earning back trust and confidence from the veterans it serves, and employee engagement within the department is also improving. This comes roughly 10 days before the VA Commission on Care is expected to pitch a major overhaul to the department’s health care and personnel systems.
The Veterans Affairs Department says nearly 97 percent of veterans received an appointment at a VA medical center within 30 days. But the Government Accountability Office says otherwise. GAO's own study suggests average wait times range from 22 to 71 days for an appointment.
Department of Veterans Affairs certifies to Congress that is it fully interoperable with DoD medical IT systems. But future of VA's own health record system is yet to be decided.
Dr. David Shulkin, the undersecretary for health at VA, says the agency needs better integration with private sector medical providers in order to "re-engineer" the way veterans access treatment.
Roughly half of a congressionally appointed commission to reform the Veterans Affairs Department suggested an expansion of community care for veterans and a systematic closure of some VA medical facilities. The "strawman document" emerged as the VA pilots a few new programs to help veterans gain more control over their health care.
The Senate is considering a series of new bills that would alter the Veterans Affairs Department's current Choice program, which lets veterans find a private care provider rather than a VA doctor. VA leaders and Congress both say the department's current program is not working.