More than a year after its launch, the largest outpatient clinic run by the Veterans Affairs is still facing challenges in staffing its vast 470,000 square foot space.
Situated around an hour south of Washington D.C., the Fredericksburg VA Health Care Center, which cost $300 million to build, was inaugurated in March 2025. Yet, it’s reported to have a vacancy rate near 40 percent, according to a report by CNN on Thursday.
That translates to over 350 unfilled positions, even while the clinic has been gradually opening its doors. Patients have experienced difficulties securing appointments or even receiving urgent care, as noted by the outlet citing unnamed sources.
Quinn Slaven, the press secretary for the VA, remarked that the clinic has “met its hiring goals” in a statement to CNN.
“In less than two years since opening, the clinic has already completed more than 245,000 appointments and is ahead of schedule for enrolling new patients,” Slaven added.
Nationwide, VA hospitals and clinics are quite familiar with being understaffed. Since the start of the second Trump administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs has established 41 new facilities to enhance care for veterans, as mentioned in a September 2 post by the department.
Since January 20, 2025, VA has opened 41 new clinics, expanding access to care for Veterans across the country. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/bFynCP0dTr
— Veterans Affairs (@DeptVetAffairs) September 2, 2026
Currently, the Department of Veterans Affairs has not provided a response to inquiries from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
During the fiscal year 2026, a staggering 97 percent of VA facilities reported significant shortages of doctors, while 86 percent indicated severe nursing shortages, according to a report from the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Veteran Affairs on September 11.
This staffing dilemma aligns with an overarching shortage of physicians across the nation.
A December 2025 analysis by the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis projected an impending shortfall of over 141,000 physicians in the U.S. by 2038.
