Change may soon be coming to the management structure at the Veterans Health Administration.
In a release, the Department of Veterans Affairs said the reorganization is intended to improve health care for veterans, empower local hospital directors, eliminate duplicative layers of bureaucracy, and ensure consistent application of its policies across all department medical facilities.
The release stressed that the initiative is not a reduction in force or an attempt to reduce staffing levels at VHA, and added that VA does not expect a significant change in overall staff levels once it’s complete. Staffing and operations at VA medical centers and clinics will also not change as part of the reorganization.
“The current VHA leadership structure is riddled with redundancies that slow decision making, sow confusion, and create competing priorities. In other words, when everyone’s in charge of everything, no one’s in charge of anything,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins in a statement.
VA will announce the precise organizational and personnel changes, which will take place over the next 18-24 months, early next year.
Multiple independent reviews from VA’s Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office, and others have underscored the need for reorganizing VHA, according to the release.
VHA Central Office will have responsibility for setting policy goals and conducting financial management, oversight, and compliance as a result of the organization. Operations Centers and Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) will take policy direction from VHA’s Central Office to develop operational, quality, and performance standards that will guide VA’s more than 1,300 medical facilities.
According to VA, those changes will result in clearer guidance and more decision-making authority for VA Health Care Systems, which deliver health care through more than 170 medical centers and nearly 1,200 outpatient sites of care.
“Under a reorganized VHA, policymakers will set policy, regional leaders will focus on implementing those policies, and clinical leaders will focus on what they do best: taking great care of veterans,” added Collins.
VA has briefed Congress of its intent and provided it with official notification on Dec. 16.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.