With a dwindling nursing staff, no physician and alleged morale problems, the newly opened clinic for the West Texas VA Health Care System at Mission Fitness is experiencing problems. Three nurses resigned in one day three weeks ago, and are speaking out about working conditions at the new clinic.

Increased wait times and staffing issues at clinic that opened on June 17 have posed problems for the 3,500 to 4,000 veterans enrolled in VA Services in the Permian Basin. Since the Permian Basin Community Based Outreach Clinic opened one doctor has resigned and another one is leaving this month, cutting the medical staff down significantly at the clinic.

Iva Jo Hanslik, community relations coordinator with the West Texas Department of Veteran Affairs in Big Spring, confirmed the resignations and departure of the physicians and said three nurses also left citing “personal reasons.” However, a grievance filed by Lea Zarsky, a registered nurse at the clinic for two years, alleges harassment and a hostile working environment as the reason for her resignation.

The issues with the Permian Basin VA clinic come as the VA attempts to address systemic problems with its healthcare system at clinics and hospitals across that country. Officials with the VA started at the top by recently appointing the new VA Secretary Robert McDonald.

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