Reports that the VA Healthcare System plans to cut 35,000 healthcare positions nationwide are not accurate, according to a VA spokesperson.
In a request for comment, Pittsburgh VA spokeswoman Shelley Nulph cautioned against repeating what she called a highly misleading Washington Post report, noting the VA has asked for multiple corrections due to major inaccuracies.
Nulph says no VA employees are being removed and there will be zero impact on veteran care.
Instead, the VA is developing plans to eliminate about 25,000 open and unfilled positions, most of them COVID-era roles that are no longer necessary.
She emphasized that all of these positions are currently vacant, and many have not been filled for more than a year.
Nulph added that VA medical facilities nationwide, including in Pittsburgh, continue to hire and fill vacancies as needed to support veteran care.