The Department of Veterans Affairs says it has fired Sharon Helman, the head of the scandal-plagued Phoenix hospital system.
Phoenix’s VA system became the center of scandal in April when Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., the chair of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released a report about delays in patient care and falsified wait times.
The scandal led to the resignation of Secretary Eric Shinseki in May.
“Lack of oversight and misconduct by VA leaders runs counter to our mission of serving Veterans, and VA will not tolerate it,” said VA Secretary Robert McDonald in a statement. “We depend on VA employees and leaders to put the needs of Veterans first and honor VA’s core values of ‘Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence.’ ”
Helman had led the system since February of 2012, according to the Associated Press. Phoenix’s VA treats more than 80,000 veterans a year.
Veterans groups have been pushing the VA to act on firing employees associated with the wait times scandal.
Verna Jones, executive director of the American Legion in Washington, told the Washington Examiner earlier in November that her organization expected “decisive action in removing those individuals — whether there are 1,000 or more — responsible for endangering our veterans by forcing them to wait months or even years for medical appointments.”
