A state watchdog had a startling diagnosis Thursday: Virginia’s Department of Health is in bad shape.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, or JLARC, said Virginia’s Department of Health has been strained under the weight of mismanagement in the last few years.
“It has been struggling to perform its administrative functions for years now. The pandemic as well as a combination of other factors has contributed to the current situation,” JLARC head Hal Greer told legislators Thursday. “Be aware these fundamental challenges have led to the intervention of legislative intervention in several instances.”
Among issues is a reported $33 million dollar deficit and $4 million in fraudulent spending after “years of mismanagement.” The agency has struggled to hire in leadership roles as well. That’s led to an increased reliance on contractors with about 30 percent of the agency being run by outside orgs since 2021.
Meanwhile, VDH has been paying those vendors late more often, quadrupling its late payments, from 7 to 30 percent being late since 2021.
House Appropriation committee Vice Chair Delegate Mark Sickles defended the use of contractors in some cases, noting his Northern Virginia district is full of federal and state contractors, but he wanted to know more about who was being contracted.
Delegate Charniele Herring, another NOVA democrat, also had questions about the agency's use of contractors, but they were more targeted: “This report is shocking and disturbing. Were any of these contractors (awarded via) competitive bids?” she asked
“That’s a good question,” JLARC Chief Legislative Analyst Drew Dickinson, who gave Thursday's presentation, said. “We don’t know,”
“That would be good to know eventually,” she added.
The report also highlighted the contractors were self-reporting that they were undertrained once they got on the job.
“Current leadership is aware of high reliance on contractors and have said they’re committed to address it,” Dickinson said.
But a line in the report, collected as part of over 100 interviews with employees, said there’s little accountability within the existing system.
"When you try and hold staff accountable, you are met with resistance and red tape to address the issues," read one survey answer presented Thursday.
Dr. Karen Shelton has been VDH commissioner since being appointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin in 2023. Despite internal complaints about accountability, she said current issues weren’t her fault.
“We have been building a culture of accountability and are committed to transparency and improving the agency’s financial operations,” she told legislators. "There’s no doubt the recommendations outlined in this report will lead to better public health across Virginia.”
Still, in a statement she read to legislators, Shelton said she was committed to solving problems, and adopting recommendations JLARC made would be a good first step.
But Prince Willaim County Democratic Senator Jeremy McPike left the committee ready to see heads roll. He said his local health district no longer provides maternity care, even as the state sees increases in maternal health needs, and he blamed VDH mismanagement.
“There needs to be significant, continued review of impacts to programs, financial management, internal audit,” McPike said. “I mean, the whole control system needs to be torn down and rebuilt, the entire management structure.”
He also pointed to reported quarterly reviews done within the agency.
“Well if these reviews have been happening, what have they been looking at?” he said.
In a statement after the meeting, a Youngkin spokesperson told Radio IQ the Governor had inherited the agency's issues: "The governor has taken unprecedented steps to address these challenges directly by implementing meaningful reforms and building a foundation for sustainable progress for Virginia’s taxpayers."
Youngkin has been governor since 2021.
And a Republican legislator who asked not to be named told Radio IQ after the meeting they were sick of excuses.
"I'm tired of people blaming things on the pandemic," they said.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
