KDSN RADIO News
U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs visits V.A. center in Iowa
The U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs says more needs to be done to improve veterans’ health care. Secretary Doug Collins toured the V.A.’s Central Iowa Health Care Center in Des Moines today and talked about efforts to reshape the system.
“We’re trying to get better decisions quicker,” Collins said. “We’re making better decisions on where we put personnel and how we put our money.”
Earlier this year Collins set a goal of cutting the V.A. payroll by 80,000 workers by September 30, but in July Collins said due to retirements, normal attrition and a federal hiring freeze, a new workforce reduction target of 30,000 employees will be reached without any layoffs. That’s 6.2% of the V.A.’s employees.
During his stop in Des Moines, Collins said there are structural issues that hinder the V.A. health system’s ability to serve patients. “Whether it be how quickly it takes us to get someone hired, how we can add new facilities, how we can add things to our repertoire, and also working with our community and our community docs,” Collins said.
Collins is a former chaplain in the Air Force Reserves. Collins represented Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives for eight years before President Trump appointed him to head the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(Reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)
