Fire alarm ends VA secretary’s speech on innovation

Published August 8, 2017 1:59pm ET



Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin on Tuesday was forced to end his speech about VA innovations early because of a fire alarm.

Shulkin was speaking at Georgetown University about innovative steps the VA is taking to improve healthcare access for veterans, when a fire alarm suddenly blared out.

“Now, the question is, what do we do?” he said as the audience laughed. “Let’s see if somebody comes and tells us …”

An automated voice then said that a fire was reported, and that everyone should leave the building.

“I guess we should, probably should leave, right?” he asked. “Sorry about this, but I think we should probably exit the building.”

Shulkin and the audience were able to return soon after, allowing him to finish his remarks.

Shulkin in recent days has touted new steps the VA is taking to improve access to care. Before being interrupted at Georgetown, he said the VA would announce new steps in September to make it faster for veterans to enroll.

Last week, Shulkin was at the White House to explain new telehealth services being rolled out for veterans.