David Shulkin

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David Shulkin
David Shulkin official photo.jpg
9th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Assumed office
February 14, 2017
President Donald Trump
Deputy Thomas G. Bowman
Preceded by Bob McDonald
Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health
In office
July 6, 2015 – February 13, 2017
President Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded by Carolyn Clancy (Acting)
Succeeded by Poonam Alaigh (Acting)
Personal details
Born David Jonathon Shulkin
(1959-07-22) July 22, 1959 (age 58)
Highland Park, Illinois, U.S.
Political party Independent[1]
Spouse(s) Merle Bari
Children 2
Education Hampshire College (BA)
Drexel University (MD)

David Jonathon Shulkin (born July 22, 1959) is an American government official serving as the 9th and current United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was nominated by President Donald Trump and unanimously confirmed by the Senate after serving as the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health from 2015 until 2017 during the presidency of Barack Obama.

Early life, education, and personal life[edit]

Shulkin was born at the Fort Sheridan U.S. Army base in Highland Park, Illinois, where his father served as an Army psychiatrist.[2][3] Both of his grandfathers fought in World War I. He received a BA from Hampshire College in 1982, and an MD degree from Medical College of Pennsylvania (which has since merged into Drexel University) in 1986; he then did his medical internship at Yale School of Medicine, and his residency and fellowship in General Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Presbyterian Medical Center. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.[4] He is married to Merle Bari, a dermatologist.[5] His daughter, Jennie, won a gold medal in squash at the 2009 Maccabiah Games.[6] Shulkin is Jewish.[7]

Career[edit]

Shulkin specialized in health care management.[1] He has been described as one of the "high priests" of patient centered care.[1] Shulkin served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.[8] While there, Shulkin would walk the wards after midnight after he discovered the night shift was providing a lower quality of care.[1] He also served as president of Morristown Medical Center and as vice president of Atlantic Health System Accountable Care Organization.[9]

He has been Chief Medical Officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University Hospital, and the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital.[10]

His other academic positions have included Chairman of Medicine and Vice Dean at Drexel University College of Medicine, and Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.[11] Shulkin has been the editor of Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management and Hospital Physician, and has been on the editorial boards of several journals, including Journal of the American Medical Association. He founded and served as the Chairman and CEO of DoctorQuality, Inc., a consumer-oriented information service.[12][13]

Shulkin has written several peer-reviewed journal articles and other professional publications.[14] In 1999, Shulkin started a pay for performance company called DoctorQuality, which ultimately failed.[1]

Veterans Affairs[edit]

In 2015, Shulkin left the private sector when he was named by President Barack Obama as Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).[15][16][17][18] When his staff told him it would take ten months to organize a summit on combat veteran suicides, Shulkin told them that the wait would cost 6,000 lives and to get it done in one month, which they then did.[1]

On January 11, 2017, Shulkin was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump as United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs.[19] Trump, who had first considered five others, nominated Shulkin after a recommendation by Ambassador David M. Friedman.[1] On February 13, 2017, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Shulkin as the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs in a 100–0 vote,[20] making him the only cabinet nominee by President Trump to have unanimous consent.[21] He is the first non-veteran to hold the position.[22] In this position, Shulkin oversees the government’s second-largest agency, with over 350,000 employees and 1,700 facilities.[1] One-third of veterans are currently sent to private health care providers, which Shulkin hopes to increase.[1]

For President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on February 28, 2017, Shulkin served as the designated survivor.[23]

In April 2017, Shulkin had every VA hospital and clinic begin publicly posting quality data and wait times.[1] He hopes to provide those with a less than honorable military discharge with free mental health care.[1]

In May 2017, behind closed doors, Shulkin asked his VA healthcare directors to get rid of optometry and audiology services to veterans.[24]

In early July 2017, Shulkin announced that any settlement with an employee will require the approval of the undersecretary, assistant secretary or equivalent senior-level official. This has ground settlements to a halt.[25] Lawyer Debra D’Agostino has opined that this will increase litigation against the VA and taxpayers will be paying for the VA's defense of itself and any illegal actions of its leadership. D'Agostino also remarked that federal agencies found liable for discrimination or whistleblower retaliation are not penalized as severely as private companies as compensatory damages are limited and there are no punitive damages available.[25]

European trip controversy[edit]

In September 2017, The Washington Post reported that Shulkin spent nearly half his time on a recent international trip to Europe—which was paid for by taxpayers—sightseeing and shopping with his wife, Merle Bari.[26] Shulkin later told the Post that he did "nothing inappropriate" on the trip, that the trip was taken primarily to attend a Five Eyes conference, and that personal visits to "various historic and other sites in London and in Denmark" were done "on nights, on weekends, the day before the conference started" and were "paid for by me."[27]

In February 2018, a report by Michael J. Missal, the Inspector General of Veterans Affairs, found that Shulkin and his staff had lied to both the agency's ethics officials and the public about the nature of his July 2017 trip to Europe. The report found that Shulkin's chief of staff, Vivieca Wright Simpson, altered emails and made false statements to make it look like Shulkin was receiving a Danish government award to justify his wife accompanying him on the taxpayer-funded trip. The VA paid over $4,300 for her airfare. The Inspector General found that the overall expense for the trip was at least $122,334. The report also found that Shulkin had inappropriately accepted tickets to Wimbledon worth thousands of dollars and had directed an aide to act as a "personal travel concierge" for the trip. The Inspector General referred his concerns about the potential criminality of the actions undertaken by Shulkin's chief of staff to the Justice Department, which declined to prosecute.[28]

Awards and honors[edit]

  • Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute in Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • National Health Policy Fellow, U.S. Senate Committee on Aging
  • Named one of the country's top Health care leaders for the next century by Modern Healthcare,[29]
  • Named One of the Hundred Most Powerful in Healthcare (ranked #86) by Modern Healthcare (2008).[30]

Published works[edit]

  • Questions Patients Need to Ask by David J. Shulkin, M.D. (Paperback – Nov 24, 2008)[31]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Philipps, Dave; Fandos, Nicholas (13 May 2017). "New Veterans Affairs Chief: A Hands-On, Risk-Taking 'Standout'". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved 14 May 2017. 
  2. ^ "Everything You Need to Know About Trump's VA Pick". ABC News. 2017-01-12. Retrieved 2017-02-09. 
  3. ^ Times, Military. "Trump picks top vets health official as the next VA secretary". Military Times. Retrieved 2017-02-09. 
  4. ^ "Dr. David Shulkin". IBM Center for the Business of Government. Retrieved 18 July 2017. 
  5. ^ Wood, Sam (May 9, 2016). "Can Philadelphia's David Shulkin cure the VA?". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 
  6. ^ Wins for the grandfather
  7. ^ Dolsten, Josefin (27 January 2017). "Meet the top Jewish officials in the Trump administration". JPost. Retrieved 15 February 2018. 
  8. ^ "Trump taps former Beth Israel CEO David Shulkin to lead VA". Advisory Board. January 12, 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017. 
  9. ^ Westhoven, William (January 11, 2017). "Trump names former Morristown Medical president to head VA". Daily Record. Retrieved 13 February 2017. 
  10. ^ Yen, Hope (January 11, 2017). "Former chief medical officer at Penn, Temple picked to lead VA". Philly Voice. Associated Press. Retrieved 13 February 2017. 
  11. ^ Like Night and Day — Shedding Light on Off-Hours Care
  12. ^ Ludwig, Elisa. "Changing Systems, Changing Lives: David Shulkin, MD, MCP '86". Drexel University College of Medicine. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. 
  13. ^ Shane, Leo (March 18, 2015). "White House picks nominees for VA's top health, IT posts". Military Times. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. 
  14. ^ Levine, Daniel (January 11, 2017). "David Shulkin: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy. Retrieved 13 February 2017. 
  15. ^ "Who Is David Shulkin? 4 Things To Know About Trump's Latest Appointment". CBS. January 11, 2017. 
  16. ^ Lisa Rein, (January 11, 2017). "David Shulkin tapped as Trump's VA secretary". Washington Post. 
  17. ^ Camila Domonoske, Trump Announces David Shulkin As Pick For Secretary Of Veterans Affairs NPR.org January 11, 2017
  18. ^ Trump Names Dr. David Shulkin to Head Veterans Affairs Bloomberg News Jan 11, 2017
  19. ^ Domonoske, C. (January 11, 2017). "Trump Announces David Shulkin As Pick For Secretary Of Veterans Affairs". 
  20. ^ Slack, Donovan (February 13, 2017). "Senate confirms David Shulkin as Veterans Affairs secretary". USA Today. Retrieved February 13, 2017. 
  21. ^ Andrews, Wilson (March 20, 2017). "How Each Senator Voted on Trump's Cabinet and Administration Nominees". The New York Times. nytimes.com. Retrieved March 28, 2017. 
  22. ^ Lawrence, Quil (13 February 2017). "Senate Confirms First Nonveteran To Lead VA". NPR.org. Retrieved 16 February 2017. 
  23. ^ "Philip Rucker on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2017-03-01. 
  24. ^ Krause, Benjamin. "Shulkin Says Get Rid Of VA Optometry, There Is A 'LensCrafters On Every Corner'". disabledveterans.org. Retrieved 15 February 2018. 
  25. ^ a b D’Agostino, Debra (9 November 2017). "Nothing to celebrate: New efforts do nothing to fix mismanagement at the VA [Commentary]". Federal Times. Retrieved 15 February 2018. 
  26. ^ "VA chief took in Wimbledon, river cruise on European work trip; wife's expenses covered by taxpayers". The Washington Post. September 29, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017. 
  27. ^ Live, Washington Post (2017-11-09). "Transcript: Veterans in America – A Conversation with VA Secretary David Shulkin". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-01-10. 
  28. ^ Rein, Lisa (February 12, 2018). "Veterans Affairs chief Shulkin, staff misled ethics officials about European trip, report finds". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 12, 2018. 
  29. ^ . Healthcare Leaders for the Next Century"- Modern Healthcare September 15, 1997
  30. ^ The nominees for the 2008 ‘100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare’ May 26, 2008
  31. ^ Gandel, Cathie (May 15, 2009). "Ask the Tough Questions". AARP. Archived from the original on January 12, 2017. 

Further reading[edit]

  • "Recognizing Quality"- Disease Management Protocols at Core of A Pennsylvania Hospital's Award Winning Approach".- Modern Healthcare February 2, 1998
  • "What Quality Measurements Miss"- Managed Care Interface March 1997.
  • "Ten Ways Technology Can Make You Money" - TIME Magazine (Guide to Personal Technology)- April 1998

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by
Carolyn Clancy
Acting		 Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health
2015–2017		 Vacant
Preceded by
Bob McDonald		 United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
2017–present		 Incumbent
Current U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Betsy DeVos
as Secretary of Education		 Order of Precedence of the United States
as Secretary of Veterans Affairs		 Succeeded by
Kirstjen Nielsen
as Secretary of Homeland Security
Current U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded by
Betsy DeVos
as Secretary of Education		 16th in line
as Secretary of Veterans Affairs		 Succeeded by
Kirstjen Nielsen
as Secretary of Homeland Security
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