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Staffing Losses Leave a New Jersey Veterans Hospital in Crisis, ProPublica Reports
By Catalina Clarke
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The East Orange VA Medical Center in East Orange, New Jersey, and its affiliated facilities have lost nearly a tenth of their staff since President Trump returned to office, and the roles classed as having “severe shortages” have tripled over two years, from around 30 to roughly 90, according to an investigation published Wednesday by ProPublica.
The shortage roles include oncologists, radiologists, surgeons, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, critical-care doctors, nurses, mechanics and cleaners, ProPublica reported, in an article co-published with NJ.com and The Star-Ledger.
Six months into the administration, East Orange was down five psychologists, two of its four general surgeons and 18 nurses, on public-records data cited by ProPublica. Both orthopedic surgeons left, wound care fell from three specialist nurses to one by spring, the oncology navigation team fell to one nurse, and there were no vascular technicians for most of this year, the report said.
ProPublica told the story of a veteran, identified as Falchetto, who arrived on Feb. 12 with a burst, gangrenous appendix while the operating room was closed — its air-flow system had malfunctioned in December, contaminating instruments. A transfer to the Manhattan VA, arranged around midnight, was scheduled for the morning transport shift around 7 a.m., about 12 hours after he arrived. ProPublica stated plainly that it is impossible to say for certain whether short-staffing caused his death.
Elsewhere in the report, a medical physicist’s departure suspended radiation treatment for months, and 17 veterans needing admission were housed in the emergency room for at least a day — a practice staff said went from rare to far more common. An internal watchdog called the rigid return-to-office policy a “system shock” on outdated infrastructure, ProPublica reported. As it prepared to publish last week, a doctor told ProPublica a backup generator had failed and the operating room was closed again.
The VA did not make Secretary Doug Collins or East Orange’s leadership available and did not address specifics, ProPublica reported. Spokesperson Pete Slaven said the facility outperforms private hospitals on certain metrics, including diabetes care and some cancer screenings, and completed more appointments in fiscal year 2025 than in any year of the Biden administration.
The report lands on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 — the day set aside for the country’s promise to the people who served in its wars, measured here against an operating room that keeps closing.
— Catalina Clarke, National Desk
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