U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL) and John Shimkus (R-IL) joined a call on Friday for the vacant director position at the St. Louis Area Veterans Affairs Health Care System (STLVACS) to be filled.
Shimkus, Davis and U.S. Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Ann Wagner (R-MO) and Mike Bost (R-IL) called for a permanent STLVACS director to be selected in a letter to VA Secretary Robert McDonald.
“Replacing one interim director with another interim director every few months is no way to run any large organization,” Shimkus said. “Patient care is suffering due to the lack of stable leadership. I again urge Secretary McDonald to make it a priority to fill this post.”
The STLVACS has not had a permanent director since 2013. Since then, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has appointed eight interim directors to fill the role.
“This is indicative of an overall system that is failing our veterans,” Davis said. “Veterans in my district who rely on the St. Louis VA for care deserve better. They deserve a VA that is focused on responsiveness and quality care, not one that continually fails to meet even the most basic requirements for patient care standards. Appointing a permanent director is just the first step to improving the VA facility in St. Louis.”
The VA indicated to members of Congress in June that a permanent STLVACS director would be appointed soon.
“It is troubling that the VA has been unable to permanently fill one of the most essential roles in the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Health Care System,” Luetkemeyer, who led the letter, said. “The VA Office of Inspector General has given the St. Louis VA multiple negative reviews and yet the Veterans Health Administration has been unable to provide it with the permanent leadership needed to make improvements. Our veterans deserve results, and that is unlikely to happen without a director that has a long term interest in the organization.”