Department of Veterans Affairs employees from across the agency say a governmentwide hiring freeze and return-to-office mandate are taking a toll on their work, despite exemptions that cover part of the workforce.
Andrea Johnson, the National Nurses United director for the San Diego VA Medical Center, said non-VA medical providers are already stretched thin, and would be unable to take on a wave of veterans seeking care.
“Our outside hospital systems are already overrun. So if you’re taking millions of veterans that receive care through the VA — if you take them out of the VA system and force them to receive care in the outside public hospital system, they’re going to see significantly longer wait times,” Johnson said during a rally of veterans groups on the National Mall Friday over looming cuts at the VA…