[1][2] Plans for establishing a veterans medical center in New Hampshire and seeking legislative approval and funding began shortly after World War I.

The problems included outdated and sometimes inadequately sterilized surgical instruments; failures to maintain the building, which led to a fly infestation and an inability to use a nuclear camera that was needed to monitor heart and bone health; failure to diagnose and treat a common spine condition called cervical myelopathy which left veterans in severe pain; and one man left paralyzed after suffering two strokes, which could have been prevented.

They also alerted journalists at the Boston Globe, which published a lengthy article on July 15, 2017, outlining the problems which had existed for several years despite the fact that the center had been upgraded to a four-star rating by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2016.

[1] Within hours of publication of the Boston Globe article, David Shulkin, the Secretary for Veterans Affairs, announced the removal of two of the center's top administrators as part of what he called a "top-to-bottom" review of the facility's operations.

The following month Shulkin announced the establishment of a special task force to review the overall provision of medical care for New Hampshire's veterans and pledged $30 million to upgrade the Manchester VA center.