Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal told reporters during an Aug. 15 roundtable that the Veterans Health Administration has added nearly 49,000 new employees so far this fiscal year as VA sees an uptick in health and benefits claims in response to the PACT Act.
“We're working as hard as we can not only to bring more folks on board but to improve the hiring process itself," he said.
Signed into law by President Joe Biden on Aug. 10, 2022, the PACT Act expands VA health care and benefits to veterans of all eras who were exposed to toxins as a result of their military service.
Most of the hiring has been centered on what Elnahal dubbed the “Big Seven” jobs – housekeeping, food service, medical support, nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses, nurses and doctors.
Not all of the new employees will be working inside the VA’s medical centers, Elnahal said. Some medical care assistants will be assigned to VA’s community care program which provides VA care to veterans through community providers when VA cannot provide the required care.
He added that VHA is nearing its goal of 52,000 new hires by Sept. 30 - the end of the current fiscal year.
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Sept. 30 also marks the end of a one-year window established by the PACT Act for veterans who have never enrolled in VA health care but served in a theater of operations after Nov. 11, 1998 and were discharged or released from military service between Sep. 11, 2001 and Oct. 1, 2013 to enroll, Elnahal said.
Elnahal cautioned that VA is finding it hard to bring nursing assistants, LPNs and housekeepers aboard. He also called the average onboarding process time of 160 days “way too long” and pointed out the agency is implementing a Government Accountability Office recommendation that all VA offices follow USA Staffing system requirements when onboarding.
Elnahal also deemed a spike in COVID-19 cases among patients concerning.
“Thankfully, we have not seen signs of it overwhelming the system yet, but it’s something we monitor every day,” he said. “And we want to make sure folks are aware that we are in the middle of another wave of COVID-19 with a new variant.”
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VA rescinded its mask mandate for all patients and visitors at its hospitals earlier this year but Elnahal said people may want to reconsider wearing masks at its medical facilities on a personal basis.
“Every medical center has a pandemic preparedness plan that accounts for their experiences during the pandemic, which was much more of an improvisation than a plan during the pandemic,” he said. “If we need to have more capacity, I’m confident we’ll be able to do that wherever we need to.”
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.