The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department this week placed VA Augusta Health Care System Acting Director Oscar Rodriguez on administrative leave, citing “an investigation of the leadership climate” there.
This is the Augusta system’s second leadership change in less than three months. In March, Augusta VA Director Robin Jackson and a fellow top official, Kimberly Booker, were reassigned elsewhere amid a probe into “potential issues and questions regarding organizational health and workplace culture.”
Rodriguez, who previously served as the VA’s acting director in Columbia, South Carolina, became Augusta’s acting director in March. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment submitted through the VA Friday morning.
Lovetta Ford, previously the Atlanta VA’s deputy director, has replaced Rodriguez as Augusta’s acting director, said VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz.
“The Augusta VAMC remains committed to delivering the highest quality care and service to veterans while fostering a positive and supportive work environment for its employees,” Kasperowicz said in an email.
In May, the VA’s Office of Inspector General published a report that says Augusta system leaders fostered a “culture of fear” with a “threatening and abusive communication style” and allegedly retaliated against employees who shared concerns. Those findings are based on a Sept. 24-26 routine inspection of the Augusta system and a survey of its employees.
In responding to the findings, VA officials said they would “evaluate facility leaders for appropriate supervisory behavior and professional communication and take necessary actions based on those evaluations, as necessary.”
The VA Medical Center in Augusta is among the lowest-performing VA hospitals in the nation, according to ratings published by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. As of April 30, it had an overall rating of two out of five stars, which are based in part on patient care, safety and mortality. Most of the more than 100 other VA hospitals that received ratings during the same time frame got higher scores.
The changes at the Augusta facility come as the Trump administration plans a broader shake-up at the VA, after announcing in March it would slash the department’s U.S. workforce by 15%, or about 72,000 employees.
Georgia is home to more than 600,000 veterans, dozens of VA health care facilities and numerous military installations, including Fort Eisenhower in Augusta, Fort Benning near Columbus and Fort Stewart near Savannah.
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