Summary: The Veterans Health Administration is looking to raise workforce productivity, after a record year of hiring, and increase the number of health care appointments available to patients. “We now have the end-strength to be able to increase productivity across the system, and provide more care out of the direct care system,” VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal told reporters in a briefing on Monday. VHA hired more than 61,000 employees last year, far exceeding some of its workforce goals for fiscal 2023. “Because of that, the goal this year is not going to be to increase total employees on board except for very critical staffing areas like mental health,” Elnahal said. “But pretty much for every other category of staff that we have, we think we have what we need to meet that demand. It’s on us to increase productivity commensurate with our staffing level, to make sure that we are able to provide accessible care.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
