People utilize a Veterans Affairs medical center in Los Angeles on July 14, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is facing what a watchdog report calls the sharpest annual rise in staffing shortages since it began facility-level reporting in 2018, while agency officials said the report provides an inaccurate picture of the workforce.
In its annual review, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported on Aug. 12 that all 139 medical centers reported staffing shortages in fiscal 2025 that were defined as “severe.” The total number of occupations this designation applied to was 4,434, which represents a 50 percent jump from the previous year’s 2,959.
