VA's Embattled Healthcare Chief to Retire

VA's Embattled Healthcare Chief to Retire
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
Sep 23, 2013

The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun looking for a successor to Dr. Robert Petzel, chief of the frequently criticized Veterans Health Administration, who is slated to retire in 2014.

Petzel, appointed by President Obama as Undersecretary for Health at the VA in 2010, has come under fire on Capitol Hill over management problems at VA hospitals in Georgia and Pittsburgh, where a number of patients died. He has also been criticized over the longstanding backlog of disability claims and for failing to provide lawmakers with requested information in a timely manner.

The VA said in a statement Friday that Petzel would be retiring “as planned, following a four-year tenure,” but will remain in the job until the Senate confirms a successor.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki expressed his gratitude to Petzel in the statement for serving veterans’ healthcare needs for four decades and “for his leadership in transforming VHA’s health care delivery system to better care for veterans.”

Earlier this month, the House Veterans Affairs Committee relocated to Pittsburgh for a hearing on the deaths of patients at VA hospitals, including at least five who died from Legionnaires' disease at the Pittsburgh hospital.
read more here