Capital & MAin Story Cites VHPI’s Work
The American Prospect recently republished a story from Capital & Main, a non-profit investigative news outlet, entitled: “Despite Vow to Protect Health Care for Veterans, VA Losing Doctors and Nurses.” Its author, Marcus Baram, reveals how VA Secretary Doug Collins’ campaign to shrink the VA workforce is creating widespread havoc and compromising veterans’ care.
Heather Fallon, a nurse in the emergency department at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, told Baram that “our staffing in the ER is beyond dire now.” She added: “We don’t have all of the services that we would have had on a regular basis.”
Baram further noted that ”between December 2024 and August 2025, the VA reported a net loss of thousands of health care positions—including 875 physicians, 2,403 registered nurses, 511 licensed practical nurses, 335 nurse assistants, 649 social workers, 287 psychologists and 906 medical support assistants, according to the department’s workforce dashboards,” data that was first revealed by VHPI Senior Policy Analyst Russell Lemle in the Prospect.
The piece also quotes VHPI Senior Policy Analyst Suzanne Gordon, who pushes back on the VA’s insistence that staff vacancies aren’t an issue. “If you take the position off the organizational chart as a [full-time employee], it looks like you don’t have a vacancy,” Gordon said.
To read Baram’s full article click here.