The Department of Veterans Affairs said Wednesday it has been forced to rehire the former director of the VA Medical Center in Washington D.C. who was fired in July after an internal investigation. Hawkins has returned to the payroll, but now holds an administrative position at the VA headquarters rather than a patient-care position at the VA Medical Center, the department said. David Shulkin, the secretary of the VA, released a defiant statement, saying he won’t allow Hawkins to work around patients. The report also noted that approximately $150 million worth of medical supplies had not been inventoried, leading to equipment shortages. In at least one instance earlier this year, the medical center ran out of bloodlines for dialysis patients and was only able to provide dialysis services because staff members borrowed bloodlines from a private hospital.

Source: Fox News August 09, 2017 23:58 UTC