DUBLIN, Ga. — The new director of Dublin's veterans administration hospital has experience stepping into a troubled facility.
Last year, the VA picked David Whitmer as interim director to turn around a medical center in Roseburg, Oregon with a "toxic work culture" management and morale problems.
At the time, the VA said Roseburg was one of their 15 lowest-performing facilities. Now Whitmer is moving to another hospital on that list, the Carl Vinson Veterans Administration Medical Center.
The VA calls Whitmer a proven leader with his 20 years at the VA and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Carl Vinson serves about 37,000 veterans in south and east Georgia and employs about 1,472 people.
Like many VA facilities, the Dublin hospital has been hammered for several years by complaints over poor care and scheduling problems. In 2014, director Jim Goldman was replaced after the VA reported that Dublin's staff falsified and destroyed records to hide long wait times for treatment.
Two years ago, the VA gave the Carl Vinson one star out of five and rated it one of their 15 lowest-performing hospitals.
Last year, Whitmer spent 11 months as interim director in Roseburg.
In September, an Oregon newspaper reported, the VA took Roseburg off its "high-risk" list, and Whitmer reported the facility was back on track to regain its two-star rating.
According to the VA, he starts in Dublin on Monday, May 13, and they'll introduce him to the public at a Veterans Town Hall the next day.
That's scheduled to start at 10 a.m. in the Carl Vinson Medical Center auditorium at 1826 Veterans Boulevard, Dublin, Georgia, 31021.
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