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David Shulkin
David Jonathon Shulkin (born July 22, 1959) is an American physician and former government official. In 2017, Shulkin became the 9th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs and served under President Donald Trump. He served as the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health from 2015 until 2017, appointed by President Barack Obama. On March 28, 2018, President Trump dismissed Shulkin from his position and announced that Physician to the President Ronny Jackson would be nominated to be Shulkin's successor, although Jackson's nomination was withdrawn on April 26, 2018, after allegations surfaced of misconduct and mismanagement while serving in the White House.1234 He was succeeded by Under Secretary of Defense Robert Wilkie.
Early life, education, and personal life
Shulkin was born at the Fort Sheridan U.S. Army base in Highland Park, Illinois to Mark Weiss Shulkin and Sonya Lee (née Edelman),5 where his father served as an Army psychiatrist.67 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.8 He is married to Merle Bari, a dermatologist.9 They had two children, Daniel and Jennifer.10 His daughter, Jennie, won a gold medal in squash at the 2009 Maccabiah Games.11 Shulkin is Jewish.12
Career
Shulkin specialized in health care management.13 He has been described as one of the "high priests" of patient centered care.14 Shulkin served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.15 While there, Shulkin would walk the wards after midnight after he discovered the night shift was providing a lower quality of care.16 He also served as president of Morristown Medical Center and as vice president of Atlantic Health System Accountable Care Organization.17
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.18
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.19 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.2021
Shulkin has written several peer-reviewed journal articles and other professional publications.22 In 1999, Shulkin started a pay for performance company called DoctorQuality, which ultimately failed.23
Veterans Affairs
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).24252627 When his staff told him it would take ten months to organize a summit on combat veteran suicides, Shulkin told them that during the wait 6,000 veterans would die and to get it done in one month, which they then did.28
On January 11, 2017, Shulkin was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump as United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs.29 Trump, who had first considered five others, nominated Shulkin after a recommendation by Ambassador David M. Friedman.30 On February 13, 2017, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Shulkin as the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs in a 100–0 vote,31 making him the only cabinet nominee by President Trump to have unanimous consent.32 He was the first non-veteran to hold the position.33 In this position, Shulkin oversaw the government's second-largest agency, with over 350,000 employees and 1,700 facilities.34 Shulkin hoped to increase reliance on private health care for routine procedures, like hearing aids, so the department could focus on its core mission of caring for the wounded.35
For President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on February 28, 2017, Shulkin served as the designated survivor in the line of succession of the president.36
In April 2017, Shulkin had every VA hospital and clinic begin publicly posting quality data and wait times.37 He wanted to provide those with a less than honorable military discharge with free mental health care.38
In May 2017, behind closed doors, Shulkin asked his VA healthcare directors to get rid of in-house optometry and audiology services to veterans—instead farming out those services to private community care.39
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 effectively stopped all settlements.40 Lawyer Debra D'Agostino said 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 said 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.41
On March 28, 2018, Trump announced on Twitter that Shulkin had been fired42 and would be replaced by appointee Robert Wilkie in the interim. Trump also announced that Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson would be nominated to replace Shulkin.43
Privatization of VA Healthcare
Following his dismissal in March 2018, Shulkin highlighted the political pressure from the Trump White House to dismantle VA healthcare and send veterans to the private sector. In a New York Times editorial, Shulkin warned that "privatization is a political issue aimed at rewarding select people and companies with profits, even if it undermines care for veterans."44 Much of the political push to privatize VA healthcare comes from the political advocacy group Concerned Veterans of America (CVA), which is backed by Charles and David Koch.45 Privatization of VA healthcare is overwhelmingly opposed by veterans and veteran service organizations (VSO).46 Political aides assigned to VA, including John Ullyot, Camilo J. Sandoval and Jake Leinenkugel, battled with Shulkin over the issue and advocated for his removal in an effort to coerce him to support privatization.4748 Shulkin's removal from the head of VA has renewed concerns among veterans that the Trump administration will privatize VA healthcare.49
European trip controversy
In September 2017, The Washington Post reported that Shulkin spent nearly half his time on a July 2017 international trip to Europe—which was paid for by taxpayers—sightseeing and shopping with his wife, Merle Bari.50 Shulkin later told The Washington 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".51
In February 2018, a report by Michael J. Missal, the Inspector General of Veterans Affairs, concluded that Shulkin and his staff had misled both the agency's ethics officials and the public about the nature of the trip. The report said that Shulkin's chief of staff, Vivieca Wright Simpson, had altered emails and had 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 Veterans Administration had paid over $4,300 for her airfare. The Inspector General said that the overall expense for the trip was at least $122,334. The report also said 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 Department of Justice, which declined to prosecute.52
In an interview with National Public Radio the day after his dismissal, Shulkin said that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has been invited to this conference for decades and that he gave three different lectures at this particular conference. Shulkin reiterated that the personal trips were taken outside the time of the conference was held. He said that the only expense incurred by his wife that was paid by the federal government was for her economy class airfare, which had been approved in advance. When the airfare expense was later questioned, Shulkin said he reimbursed the federal government for the cost. He also said that prior to his dismissal the Trump Administration had forbidden him from speaking to the media to respond to the accusations publicly.53
Awards and honors
- 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,54
- Named One of the Hundred Most Powerful in Healthcare (ranked #86) by Modern Healthcare (2008).55
Published works
- Shulkin, David J., M.D. (2008). Questions Patients Need to Ask: Getting the Best Healthcare. Xlibris, Corp. ISBN: 978-1436367592.56
References
| 1 | https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trump-jackson/white-house-doctor-ronny-jackson-withdraws-from-va-nomination-idINKBN1HX1V5 |
| 2 | Ronny Jackson withdraws as VA secretary nominee. LINK |
| 3 | @realdonaldtrump (28 March 2018)."I am pleased to announce that I intend to nominate highly respected Admiral Ronny L. Jackson, MD, as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs...." (Tweet) via Twitter. |
| 4 | Fandos, Nicholas et al. Veterans Affairs Secretary Is Latest to Go as Trump Shakes Up Cabinet, 28 March 2018. LINK |
| 5, | 10 Things You Didn't Know About David Shulkin, US News, 9 February 2017. LINK |
| 6 | Everything You Need to Know About Trump's VA Pick, at ABC News, 12 January 2017. LINK |
| 7 | Times, Military. Trump picks top vets health official as the next VA secretary, at Military Times. LINK |
| 8 | Dr. David Shulkin, IBM Center for the Business of Government, accessed 18 July 2017. LINK |
| 9 | Wood, Sam. Can Philadelphia's David Shulkin cure the VA?, May 9, 2016. LINK |
| 11 | Wins for the grandfather |
| 12 | Meet the top Jewish officials in the Trump administration, JPost, 27 January 2017, accessed 15 February 2018. LINK |
| 13, | Philipps, Dave et al. New Veterans Affairs Chief: A Hands-On, Risk-Taking 'Standout', 13 May 2017, page A1, accessed 14 May 2017. LINK |
| 15 | Trump taps former Beth Israel CEO David Shulkin to lead VA, Advisory Board, January 12, 2017, accessed 13 February 2017. LINK |
| 17 | Westhoven, William. Trump names former Morristown Medical president to head VA, Daily Record, January 11, 2017, accessed 13 February 2017. LINK |
| 18 | Yen, Hope. Former chief medical officer at Penn, Temple picked to lead VA, Philly Voice, January 11, 2017, accessed 13 February 2017. LINK |
| 19 | Like Night and Day — Shedding Light on Off-Hours Care |
| 20 | Ludwig, Elisa. Changing Systems, Changing Lives: David Shulkin, MD, MCP '86, Drexel University College of Medicine. LINK |
| 21 | Shane, Leo. White House picks nominees for VA's top health, IT posts, Military Times, March 18, 2015. LINK |
| 22 | Levine, Daniel. David Shulkin: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Heavy, January 11, 2017, accessed 13 February 2017. LINK |
| 24 | Who Is David Shulkin? 4 Things To Know About Trump's Latest Appointment, CBS, January 11, 2017. LINK |
| 25 | David Shulkin tapped as Trump's VA secretary, Washington Post, January 11, 2017. LINK |
| 26 | Camila Domonoske, Trump Announces David Shulkin As Pick For Secretary Of Veterans Affairs NPR.org January 11, 2017 |
| 27 | Trump Names Dr. David Shulkin to Head Veterans Affairs Bloomberg News Jan 11, 2017 |
| 29 | Trump Announces David Shulkin As Pick For Secretary Of Veterans Affairs, January 11, 2017. LINK |
| 31 | Slack, Donovan. Senate confirms David Shulkin as Veterans Affairs secretary, USA Today, February 13, 2017. LINK |
| 32 | Andrews, Wilson. How Each Senator Voted on Trump's Cabinet and Administration Nominees, at The New York Times, nytimes.com, March 20, 2017, accessed March 28, 2017. LINK |
| 33 | Lawrence, Quil. Senate Confirms First Nonveteran To Lead VA, at NPR.org, 13 February 2017, accessed 16 February 2017. LINK |
| 36 | Philip Rucker on Twitter. LINK |
| 39 | Krause, Benjamin. Shulkin Says Get Rid Of VA Optometry, There Is A 'LensCrafters On Every Corner', at disabledveterans.org, accessed 15 February 2018. LINK |
| 40, | D'Agostino, Debra. Nothing to celebrate: New efforts do nothing to fix mismanagement at the VA [Commentary], Federal Times, 9 November 2017, accessed 15 February 2018. LINK |
| 42 | Trump Ousts Shulkin From Veterans Affairs, Taps His Doctor, Associated Press, New York Times, March 28, 2018 |
| 43 | Rein, Lisa et al. Trump taps his doctor to replace Shulkin at VA, choosing personal chemistry over traditional qualifications, 29 March 2018. LINK |
| 44 | David J. Shulkin: Privatizing the V.A. Will Hurt Veterans, March 28, 2018, accessed 31 March 2018. LINK |
| 45 | VanDiver, Shawn. Concerned Veterans for America - A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, 15 December 2017. LINK |
| 46 | Phipott, Tom. Vet Groups Uniting To Oppose Privatized Care, Defend VA, 23 June 2016. LINK |
| 47 | It's Killing the Agency: Ugly Power Struggle Paralyzes Trump's Plan to Fix Veterans Care. LINK |
| 48 | Trump To Replace VA Secretary David Shulkin, 28 March 2018. LINK |
| 49 | LINK |
| 50 | VA chief took in Wimbledon, river cruise on European work trip: Wife's expenses covered by taxpayers, at The Washington Post, September 29, 2017, accessed September 29, 2017. LINK |
| 51 | Transcript: Veterans in America – A Conversation with VA Secretary David Shulkin, at Washington Post, November 9, 2017. LINK |
| 52 | Rein, Lisa. Veterans Affairs chief Shulkin, staff misled ethics officials about European trip, report finds, February 12, 2018. LINK |
| 53 | King, Noel (March 29, 2018). "Interview with David Shulkin" (audio). Morning Edition. National Public Radio. |
| 54 | . Healthcare Leaders for the Next Century"- Modern Healthcare September 15, 1997 |
| 55 | The nominees for the 2008 '100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare' May 26, 2008 |
| 56 | Gandel, Cathie. Ask the Tough Questions, AARP, May 15, 2009. LINK |
Further reading
- "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