Embattled director of Veterans Affairs in Pacific resigns
STAR-ADVERTISER / JULY 2014
Wayne Pfeffer
STAR-ADVERTISER / JUNE 2014
Wayne Pfeffer, then-director of the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, second from left, answered questions during a June 2014 news conference at the Spark Matsunaga Veterans Affairs Center at Tripler Army Medical Center in Moanalua. Also pictured are Dr. William Dobbs, left, Dr. Laura Wong, and Dr. Richard Stack.
Wayne Pfeffer, the embattled head of the Veterans Administration’s Pacific Islands Health Care System, has abruptly resigned, effectively immediately, and will be returning to the mainland.
Pfeffer had been on the job less than three years and oversaw a system that at one point in 2014 had the longest wait times in the entire VA system for an incoming patient to get an initial appointment with a primary care physician. In 2014, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard had called for Pfeffer’s resignation.
Acting director Tonia Bagby, a clinical psychologist, today referred to Pfeffer’s departure as a “retirement,” rather than a resignation.
Pfeffer was not on the job today after sending an email to the VA staff around noon Tuesday that read, “It has not been an easy decision for me, however due to personal reasons, I am retiring and returning to the mainland. VA PIHCS will continue to get better and better because of the great people here. I want to thank each and every one of you for your support and the things you’ve shared and allowed me to share. I will certainly miss Hawaii, and all of you who have become my family, my ohana. It has been a honor and a pleasure to have been able to be a member of this ‘ohana and the wonderful things happening here.”
Asked why Pfeffer retired immediately, Bagby said, “everyone has their own personal reasons. I believe Mr. Pfeffer was thoughtful in his decisions.”
Asked about her own plans for the VA, Bagby said, “I’m not comfortable saying anything at this time,” but added, “we are definitely able and capable moving forward.”
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Asked what message she had for veterans throughout the Pacific Region, Bagby said, “the wait times happened in 2014 and we’ve made great improvements since then. Now we’re in 2016, almost two years later, and a lot of veterans will continue to see great improvements … if they’re not already experiencing that.”
20 responses to “Embattled director of Veterans Affairs in Pacific resigns”
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Excellent. Called for his removal over two years ago. Another Pres. Obama’s appointees bites the dust.
This guy was not a presidential appointee, just a career civil servant.
Lee1957, The Hatch Act was to end all political activities by civil servants, but the VA had some 700 civil servants playing the political game at the time Shinseki resigned. Now, with the investigation, there are over 2,000 civil servants involved that have been transferred, retired, etc. from the VA. Yes, they were all playing the Democrat game with President Obama. The system got contaminated by politics. And, yes, the same was true with a Republican president. Very sad, because the veterans are the one who got hurt. Look at the IRS, it’s another institution that requires cleaning up. The Federal bureaucracy is way too large.
Get your facts straight, and stop politicizing every issue. But, if you are, why dont you provide an answer to why the late Scalia was traveling entirely on someone else’s nickel (not paying for a single cent) and that said party, just had an issue before the US Supreme Court, the year previous? Or why they will not name the individual that was traveling with Justice Scalia? See–https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/17/justice-scalias-death-and-questions-about-who-pays-for-supreme-court-justices-to-visit-remote-resorts/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_obama-820pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
Sorry Bo, I don’t have any knowledge relating to your question on Justice Scalia.
Long overdue? and how much is his pension?…….may he live a long life? and how soon will he get another job? maybe consultant work?
Aloha oe until we meet again.
41 years in federal govt…nice…
Wasn’t fixing the VA one of O’s top promises back in 2008? Geesh what happened?
Right, just like yesterday’s article about Isis current budget crunch is his fault too, right?
Wrong thread…you ok?
No, what I’m saying you ALWAYS “blame” Obama for anything you perceive as bad, and are totally silent when it comes to things that could be considered good.
Quite frankly it’s crazy to do that. It’s like blaming Bush for 9/11. Sure, he was at the helm, but that doesn’t mean it was his fault. Similarly the VA was in shambles before Obama took over, and from all reports, thing are better than they were before.
I use the VA hospital all the time and I can say it is better run than Tripler. Gabbard made that statement in an election year. She was surfing when the Director gave a briefing on what was happening. She’s in the news again–OH–another election year!!! She should go out to the VA and the Tripler complex and try to find a parking spot. She’s on the Armed Forces Committee let’s get some funds for those hospitals!!!!
When Akaka got the vets from another country but who served the US military in WW 2 into the VA, that’s when the burden started to take a toll. Not enough funding, not enough staff, not enough facilities to handle the overnight increase in vets eligible. Compared to other rat hole VAs elsewhere, ours is a gem and Tripler is a Gem too. Tri Care is better than VA, however.
The VA often times refers me to a specialist at Tripler.
Mike, me too! I see the problem we have as enormous amount of Vietnam veterans because of the liberal interpretation of the Agent Orange disease–all of us vets are getting older and the old age diseases are now linked to that.
It is overwhelming the VA and I really don’t see a solution. Politicians can point fingers and make accusations–that’s election year crap–let them voice a solution.
Gabbard has been working hard on veteran’s problems since her election. Anybody who says otherwise is clueless. Her bill for changes to VA even made in into the VA reform bill that congress passed. She was in DC, not surfing, when the director gave incorrect information to her and the other congressional staffers.
These management jokers working for the government taking risk, because when they get busted, they know that they are eligible for retirement, anyways. No skin off of their back.
Wayne,
I hope you are on a plane by now. Good-bye and don’t let the door hit your okole on the way out!
Tell you what my friends, look into the new surgical advances which will change how future medical procedures is done world wide. Look into, (Robotic Surgery/Bionic Surgeon/Microscopic Triangulation) just to name a few.
The days of patients going into a butcher-factory for surgeries are nearing an end and I’m not just talking about massive pain and suffering; but taking into account physician-errors, etc.
We’re talking about precise robotic surgeries at a fraction of current costs. Many because of the new way to perform surgeries;(same-day, in and out surgeries without tasking time for recoveries).
That’s the new methods already in practice around limited sections of the country; an evolving dynamic which will soon be how surgery is done world wide, look into those subjects mentioned above.
She got it all wrong. This person who resign made a big impact to the VA since taking over the reins. I have seen the services at the VA improve by 10 folds in the past few years. To bad so sad. Perhaps the person who needs to go is Tulsi? Happy travels brother wherever you are or go. He looks like Veteran himself. The real problem about the VA Hospital is they have personnel who are not Veterans and could give (excuse the language) a rats ass about the Veterans.