{"id":29367,"date":"2026-02-27T10:09:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=29367"},"modified":"2026-02-27T10:09:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:09:27","slug":"sen-ossoff-launches-inquiry-into-impacts-of-staffing-shortages-leadership-deficiencies-at-charlie-norwood-va-medical-center","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/sen-ossoff-launches-inquiry-into-impacts-of-staffing-shortages-leadership-deficiencies-at-charlie-norwood-va-medical-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Ossoff Launches Inquiry into Impacts of Staffing Shortages & Leadership Deficiencies at Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

Augusta, Ga. <\/strong>\u2014 As part of his ongoing inquiry, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is requesting more information about staffing shortages and leadership issues impacting veterans\u2019 care at the Augusta VA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff is requesting answers about potential risks to patient health and safety as part of his office\u2019s ongoing inquiry into staffing shortages and leadership deficiencies at the Charlie Norwood Department of Veterans\u2019 Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Augusta that are severely impacting veterans\u2019 health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff\u2019s ongoing inquiry follows disturbing reports in May<\/a> and August 2025<\/a> by the VA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) about the Augusta VA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOver the last several months, investigators in my office have received alarming firsthand reports from employees and patients of the Augusta VA that raise urgent and ongoing concerns about harms to patient care, staff morale, and staff capacity resulting from these issues,\u201d Sen. Ossoff wrote to Acting Director Doelling.<\/strong> \u201cOne Augusta VA staff member stated that some patients \u2018died while waiting for care.\u2019 Potential risks to patient health and safety require immediate investigation and remedy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff is requesting information about vacancy rates for provider and staff positions, what steps are being taken to retain and recruit staff, what measures have been taken to address vacancies in leadership at the Augusta VA, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff continues working to strengthen veterans\u2019 access to the care they deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, Sen. Ossoff launched an inquiry<\/a> into the status of implementing the Veterans Child Care Assistance Program (VCAP) at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, a program aimed at making it easier for Georgia veteransto access health care by reducing the difficulty of finding childcare during medical appointments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last summer, Sen. Ossoff pressed<\/a> VA Secretary Doug Collins about leadership challenges at the Augusta VA impacting veterans\u2019 care after the VA\u2019s Inspector General report found VA Augusta leaders fostered a \u201cculture of fear\u201d with a \u201cthreatening and abusive communication style\u201d and allegedly retaliated against employees who shared concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, Sen. Ossoff urged<\/a> the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to establish a Women\u2019s Health Center of Excellence at the VA Augusta Health Care System in Augusta, Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> to read Sen. Ossoff\u2019s inquiry to Acting Director Doelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # #<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Augusta, Ga. \u2014 As part of his ongoing inquiry, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is requesting more information about staffing shortages and leadership issues impacting veterans\u2019 care at the Augusta VA. Sen. Ossoff is requesting answers about potential risks to patient health and safety as part of his office\u2019s ongoing inquiry into staffing shortages and leadership deficiencies […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29367","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/29367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/29367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29368,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/29367\/revisions\/29368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}