Top VA Health Official Resigns Amid Scandal Over Treatment Delays
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki says he's accepted the resignation of the department's undersecretary for health, a day after the two officials testified before Congress about a growing controversy delays in treatment.
"Today, I accepted the resignation of Dr. Robert Petzel, undersecretary for health in the Department of Veterans Affairs," Shinseki said in a statement cited by Reuters.
"As we know from the veteran community, most veterans are satisfied with the quality of their VA health care, but we must do more to improve timely access to that care," Shinseki said.
As under secretary for health at the VA, Petzel oversaw the health needs of veterans under the department's care. Before coming to the under secretary's post, he served as network director of the VA Midwest Health Care Network, based in Minneapolis, Minn., according to his official bio.
As we reported on Thursday, Shinseki told a Senate panel then that he was "mad as hell" about reports that delays in treatment of veterans at some hospitals may have led to as many as 40 deaths.
Shinseki had told the panel that he would not fire any of the department's senior leadership until an inspector general's report was finished in August.
But, as The Washington Post writes, Sen. Mark Begich, Alaska Democrat, had pressed Shinseki "to get rid of those who had been found untrustworthy through fraudulent statements or documents."
"Sometimes you've got to have some heads roll to get the system to shape up," Begich said.