WASHINGTON, DC—Even though the overall 2012 budget request for VA includes $50.9 billion for medical care— a net increase of $240 million over the 2012 advance appropriations request of $50.6 billion in the 2011 budget—union representatives are worried that cost-cutting measures may be putting too much strain on VA’s already stretched-thin staff.

DAYTON, OH—In the latest VA infection control lapse to come under public scrutiny, Ohio-based legislators are pushing for both U.S. House and Senate investigations into practices at a Dayton VAMC dental clinic that may have resulted in nine cases of hepatitis.

WASHINGTON, DC—Nurses should be playing a stronger role in the nation’s healthcare systems, and should be among the leaders in the redesigning of care in the United States, according to an IoM report released last month.

WASHINGTON, DC—What does a pharmacist working in a VA hospital look like? Twenty years ago, that person would likely have been male, have entered the VA system with a baccalaureate degree, and spent much of their time behind a counter doing the grunt work of filling prescriptions.