The Department of Veterans Affairs has fired Terry Gerigk Wolf, director of the Pittsburgh VA Healthcare System, according to a recent ABC News report.
The Pittsburgh's VA CMO, David MacPherson, MD, MPH, has been named interim director.
The VA's decision comes a month after officials determined Ms. Wolf committed "conduct unbecoming a senior executive" and wasteful spending, according to the report. She has been on paid leave since June after the VA reviewed an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease that occurred between February 2011 and November 2012, during which time at least six Pittsburgh VA patients died and 16 became infected. The bacterial disease was traced to water treatment problems at the Pittsburgh-area hospitals, according to the report.
According to the report, the VA's handling of the outbreak has angered many, especially in instances when those involved in the outbreak were allowed to retire and were given bonuses.
Ms. Wolf is the fourth senior executive in the VA to be removed under a new law that gives Robert McDonald, VA secretary, the authority to streamline the removal of executives who demonstrate poor performance by reducing the time for dealing with appeals.