NOVA Warns Reduction in Force will Harm Veterans

NOVA Warns Reduction in Force will Harm Veterans

The Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs (NOVA) reviewed the recent memorandum from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which plans to cut staffing to FY 2019 levels, reducing over 80,000 positions. NOVA warns that these cuts will devastate and irreparably harm Veterans' care and services.

It will drastically decrease the availability of VA-offered Veteran-centric care. It will increase wait times and distances needed to access care. It will burnout existing staff covering workload for terminated colleagues and lead to loss of Veteran trust in the VA.

As nurses providing care, “we find this situation deeply concerning as it threatens to disrupt the VHA and endanger the VA’s direct care system. Insufficient staffing can lead to poor patient conditions and outcomes, and our nation’s Veterans deserve better,” said Cathy Giasson, DNP, MHA, RN, NE-BC, CPHQ, NOVA President.

We call on Congress to put a stop to this plan and to uphold the laws they enacted ensuring Veterans receive their earned and promised care and services.

NOVA is a nationwide, nonprofit professional organization whose members are nurses working for the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers and Clinics. NOVA is not part of the VHA, nor is NOVA sanctioned or endorsed by the VHA.

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