For the federal government's largest group of employees 鈥� nurses caring for military veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs 鈥� the Trump administration's and its looming Thursday deadline come amid longstanding staffing shortages, deemed severe at more than half of all facilities.
Unions are discouraging nurses from accepting the offer, and leaders say an exodus would directly and immediately affect the care of its 9.1 million enrolled veterans.
鈥淲e鈥檙e already facing a staffing crisis in our hospitals,鈥� said Irma Westmoreland, a registered nurse who heads the Veterans Affairs unit for National Nurses United. 鈥淲e cannot afford to lose any more staff.鈥�
Nurses for the VA 鈥� the federal government's largest employer 鈥� comprise the biggest single group of federal workers, numbering more than 100,000 and accounting for 5% of all full-time permanent employees, according to an Associated Press analysis of personnel data.
Union official Mary-Jean Burke said she's taken calls from nurses and other VA workers from across the country. At first, she said, some thought the buyout plan sounded attractive, but second thoughts have set in.
鈥淥riginally, I think people were like, 鈥業鈥檓 out of here,鈥欌�� said Burke, a physical therapist and American Federation of Government Employees leader. As more information came from the , it started sounding 鈥渁 little bit too good to be true and people were hesitant."
VA nurses are somewhat older than the rest of the workforce, with 16.2% of nurses 55 and older, compared with 14.6% for the rest of the federal workforce, AP's analysis shows.
Burke said some workers who are retirement eligible have been 鈥渙n the fence鈥� about the offer, which promises pay through Sept. 30, though there have been broad concerns about the program's legality.
Nurses were confused at first, and now they鈥檙e angry, Westmoreland said.
Official communication on the offer has implied the nurses are not productive, she said, and that's insulted those she鈥檚 talked to. A follow-up question-and-answer email from the Office of Personnel Management encouraged federal employees to find a job in the private sector.
鈥淭he way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector,鈥� the email said.
Burke she's been asked by workers about the flurry of other executive orders, too.
鈥淚 can tell you here in Indiana and other places, people are really frightened about the chaos, the chaos they kind of feel around them,鈥� Burke said.
The department's leadership also has expressed concern about the potential impact on nursing in the VA, she said. More than 80% of facilities are experiencing a severe nursing shortage, from the VA Office of Inspector General.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e scared, too,鈥� she said. "They know that they have to follow the president鈥檚 orders, per se, but then you hear the caveat, like, 鈥楬ey, if five nurses take the buyout, we don鈥檛 have an OR anymore.鈥� That鈥檚 in the dialogue of conversation.鈥�
The VA did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Burke said she is worried about the federal workforce more broadly.
鈥淚 know it鈥檚 going to look different," she said. "A lot of people are stressed out because they kind of feel like the predictability of their mission is a little bit different.鈥�
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Associated Press data journalist Mary Katherine Wildeman in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report. Johnson reported from Washington state. Witte reported from Annapolis, Maryland.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Carla K. Johnson And Brian Witte, The Associated Press
