Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki says he's accepted the resignation of the agency's undersecretary for health, a day after the two officials testified before Congress about a growing controversy delays in treatment.
"Today, I accepted the resignation of Dr. Robert Petzel, undersecretary for health in the Department of Veterans Affairs," Shinseki said in a statement cited by Reuters.
"As we know from the veteran community, most veterans are satisfied with the quality of their VA health care, but we must do more to improve timely access to that care," Shinseki said.
As under secretary for health at the VA, Petzel oversaw the health needs of veterans under the agency's care. Before coming to the under secretary's post, he served as network director of the VA Midwest Health Care Network, based in Minneapolis, Minn., according to his official bio.
As we reported on Thursday, Shinseki told a Senate panel then that he was "mad as hell" about reports that delays in treatment of veterans at some hospitals may have led to as many as 40 deaths.
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