MANCHESTER, NH – The federal government will invest $30 million in expanding the Manchester VA Medical Center and repairing areas damaged recently after a pipe burst.
The announcement was made Friday by U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, who toured the hospital and met with staff, along with some of the “whistleblowers” whose complaints about conditions at the hospital were highlighted in a recent Boston Globe article.
Part of the infusion of resources will include a new leadership team, including a new director, chief of staff and director of nursing and patient care.
Shulkin said he wanted to do better for New Hampshire veterans, and that replacing the existing management team was not an indication of inadequacy, but rather a fresh start for the hospital, which serves veterans from across the region.
Part of the plan includes forming a task force to explore the possibility of bringing a fully-equipped hospital for veterans to New Hampshire, possibly through partnerships with existing hospitals, or a public-private partnership. Results of the task force findings is expected to be delivered in January 2018.
