MILWAUKEE — New concerns have arisen over care for veterans as changes in federal government policies affect the Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
The issues began because of a federal hiring freeze ordered by President Trump on his first day in office, employees tell TMJ4.
One Milwaukee VA employee reached out to TMJ4, saying they cannot complete job offer processing for critical positions, including nurses and doctors.
"It's been extremely stressful and chaotic," the employee said. "We are left in the dust trying to pick up the pieces, trying to keep employees and our mission afloat every day."
The employee, who spoke to TMJ4 on the condition of anonymity, has worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs for 16 years.
"I've been crying, I've been angry, and I don't know what to do," the employee said. "That's why I sent the email—because I don't know what I can do, I feel like we are not heard."
On Inauguration Day, President Trump signed an executive order that put a freeze on all hiring for federal agencies, a move the employee says caused confusion.
"We had to rescind thousands of job offers and remove all of our job postings immediately," the employee said.
Watch: Veterans Affair employee shares concerns over federal policies affecting hiring
Just days later, the White House gave the VA exceptions to the hiring freeze for healthcare-related jobs.
The employee said they were then forced to call back the candidates whose job offers were rescinded and offer them the roles again.
However, the employee went on to say that although they were given a green light to hire, the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has put restrictions on their computer programs used for hiring.
Internal VA emails obtained by TMJ4 News show that official job offer templates, job postings, and new hire records are all blocked by OPM pop-ups.
"We aren't able to process employees that are supposed to start on Monday," the employee said.
As of Friday, those server issues still prevented any new hires from being added into the payroll system.
"In order for them to be paid, we still need access to these systems that OPM has taken away from us."
"And these are nurses and doctors you're trying to hire?" TMJ4's Mariam Mackar asked.
"Nurses, doctors, housekeepers, people who clean your medical equipment, people who clean the hospital beds, people who are making appointments for veterans, occupational therapists, physical therapists—everyone who deals in direct patient care," answered the employee.
They said a lack of communication from the White House and constant changes over the past two weeks are ultimately affecting care for veterans.
TMJ4 reached out to the VA for comment Friday. They responded with a release from two weeks ago that said they'll continue filling essential positions.
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