The Department of Veterans Affairs says Doug Paxton has been replaced as director of its medical center in Roseburg.

The move announced Thursday comes days after the chief of surgery stepped down.

The leadership changes arrive as the VA investigates allegations of mismanagement and a culture of bullying and retaliation against whistle-blowers.

The VA says the moves were made to improve care for veterans at one of its lowest-performing facilities.

It says it expects improvement in several target areas, including access to care, performance measures, patient experience, employee experience and mortality. If the Roseburg VA doesn't meet those goals, a team of improvement coaches will be dispatched.

Paxton is being replaced on an interim basis by David Whitmer, chief operating officer of the St. Petersburg, Florida-based Sunshine Health Network.