David Shulkin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David Shulkin
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Official portrait, 2017
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| 9th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs | |
| In office February 14, 2017 – March 28, 2018 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Thomas G. Bowman |
| Preceded by | Bob McDonald |
| Succeeded by | Robert Wilkie |
| Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health | |
| In office July 6, 2015 – February 13, 2017 |
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| President | Barack Obama Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Robert Petzel |
| Succeeded by | Poonam Alaigh (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
David Jonathon Shulkin
July 22, 1959 Highland Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | Merle Bari |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Hampshire College (BA) Drexel University (MD) |
David Jonathon Shulkin (born July 22, 1959) is an American doctor and former government official. He served as the ninth United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from 2017 to 2018 under President Donald Trump. Before that, he was the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health from 2015 to 2017, appointed by President Barack Obama. On March 28, 2018, President Trump announced that Shulkin would be replaced.
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Early Life and Education
David Shulkin was born in Highland Park, Illinois. His father was an Army psychiatrist. Both of his grandfathers fought in World War I.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from Hampshire College in 1982. He then received his Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1986. After medical school, he completed his medical training at Yale School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh.
Career in Healthcare
Shulkin became an expert in managing healthcare. He was known for focusing on "patient-centered care," which means putting the patient's needs first.
He served as the President and CEO of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. He also led Morristown Medical Center. Shulkin was the first Chief Medical Officer at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. He also held similar roles at Temple University Hospital.
He was a professor of medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine. Shulkin also wrote articles for medical journals.
Serving Veterans
In 2015, President Barack Obama chose Shulkin to be the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health. This role is part of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA helps military veterans with their healthcare.
Shulkin was nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to be the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs on January 11, 2017. The United States Senate approved him unanimously. This made him the only person chosen by President Trump for a cabinet position to receive 100% approval. He was also the first person without military service to hold this job.
As Secretary, Shulkin was in charge of a very large agency. It had over 350,000 employees and 1,700 facilities. He wanted to make sure veterans received the best care.
In April 2017, Shulkin made VA hospitals share their quality data. This included how long veterans had to wait for appointments. He also wanted to offer mental health care to veterans with less than honorable military discharges.
Changes in VA Healthcare
After he left his position in March 2018, Shulkin spoke about the idea of "privatizing" VA healthcare. This means letting private companies provide more of the care instead of the government. Shulkin believed that this could make care worse for veterans. Many veteran groups also opposed this idea.
Travel Questions
In 2017, there were questions about a trip Shulkin took to Europe. Some reports suggested he spent a lot of time sightseeing. Shulkin stated that the trip was mainly for a conference. He said any personal visits were done on his own time and paid for by him.
A report in 2018 looked into the trip. It found that some of his staff had not been clear about the trip's purpose. The report also mentioned that the VA had paid for some of his wife's airfare. Shulkin later reimbursed the government for this cost. He said that his personal trips were outside of conference hours. An internal VA review found no evidence of wrongdoing on Shulkin's part.
Personal Life
David Shulkin is married to Merle Bari, who is a dermatologist. They have two children. Shulkin is Jewish.
Published Books
- Shulkin, David J., M.D. (2008). Questions Patients Need to Ask: Getting the Best Healthcare. ISBN: 978-1436367592.
- Shulkin, David J., M.D. (2019). It Shouldn't Be This Hard to Serve Your Country: Our Broken Government and the Plight of Veterans. ISBN: 1541762657.
Awards and Honors
- Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute in Health Economics.
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar.
- National Health Policy Fellow for the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging.
- Named one of the country's top healthcare leaders by Modern Healthcare.
See also
- List of Jewish United States Cabinet members
