Spokane VA director reassigned amid planned hospital restructuring

Leadership changed at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center after internal documents outlined possible service reductions. Robert Fischer was assigned to special projects at the regional office, effective Monday. Associate director Sarah Boardman will serve as acting medical center director. VA spokesman Bret Bowers said the documents were not an official policy and maintained that hospital services would remain unchanged.

A Sept. 14 document described a $30.7 million shortfall for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. It also recorded a regional directive to lower the hospital’s staffing ceiling: 1,508 positions would become 1,325 by September 2028, a difference of roughly 183 jobs. Employees reviewing operations placed clinical services into four groups: 30 were marked for strengthening, 22 for consolidation or improvement, three for either expansion or closure, and four for elimination.

The inpatient and acute psychiatric units were among the services facing a choice between more support and closure. Acupuncture, infectious disease care and nephrology were placed in the elimination group. The review considered patient demand, the medical center’s ability to deliver care and whether community providers could replace it. Inpatient operations recorded slightly more than 1,400 admissions during 2025, averaging fewer than four patients daily. The VA’s national strategy sets a minimum daily average of 20. For Spokane-area veterans, the proposed categories could affect where they receive hospital, psychiatric and specialty care, while the staffing target could reduce the medical center workforce.