HAMPTON, Va. — Virginia's two senators said change was needed.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) reacted on Thursday to news that the top three officers at the Hampton Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center had been removed.
In the wake of a recent VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report, the facility's executive director, chief of staff and chief of surgery are out.
Those departures came in the wake of a report that investigated accusations of employee retaliation, patient safety concerns and medical incompetence.
"New leadership was needed. I mean, I was there last week, and I was asking about this forthcoming report. Obviously, I didn't know what was going to be in it. I wanted to see that, and I shared it. But the degree of concerns suggests that these leadership changes are necessary," Kaine said.
"Our veterans deserve better. End of the day, this can't be about personalities. It needs to be about the veterans and the quality of care they get," Warner said.
In 2022, a separate OIG report found that multiple failures delayed a Hampton VA patient from being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia, 2nd District) told 13 News Now on Wednesday that the leadership change is "a step in the right direction."
The VA has named Michael Harper the Acting Medical Center Director through Aug. 5.
After that, Walt Danneberg, the director of the VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California, will take over.