Wayne Pfeffer, the embattled head of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Pacific Islands Health Care System, has abruptly resigned, effective immediately, and will be returning to the mainland.

Pfeffer had been on the job less than three years and oversaw a system that at one point in 2014 had the longest wait times in the entire VA system for an incoming patient to get an initial appointment with a primary care physician.

Pfeffer sent an email to the VA staff on Tuesday that read: “It has not been an easy decision for me; however, due to personal reasons, I am retiring and returning to the mainland. VA PIHCS will continue to get better and better because of the great people here. I want to thank each and every one of you for your support and the things you’ve shared and allowed me to share. I will certainly miss Hawaii and all of you who have become my family, my ohana. It has been an honor and a pleasure to have been able to be a member of this ohana and the wonderful things happening here.”

In 2014, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, of Hawaii, called for Pfeffer’s resignation.

On Wednesday, Gabbard said in a statement:

“Leaders in the Veterans Administration need to be judged by their actions and effectiveness in serving our veterans, and they must be held accountable. Unfortunately, too often, this accountability does not exist. The mission of the VA is to take care of our veterans, and they deserve the absolute best service. I look forward to working with the new director to continue serving the needs of our veterans who are still facing challenges in receiving timely and quality health care.”

Acting VA director Tonia Bagby, a clinical psychologist, on Wednesday referred to Pfeffer’s departure as a “retirement,” rather than a resignation.

Asked why Pfeffer retired immediately, Bagby told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that “everyone has their own personal reasons. I believe Mr. Pfeffer was thoughtful in his decisions.”

Asked about her own plans for the VA, Bagby said, “I’m not comfortable saying anything at this time,” but added, “We are definitely able and capable moving forward.”

As for the message she had for the 127,000 veterans living in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific basin, Bagby said: “The wait times happened in 2014 and we’ve made great improvements since then. Now we’re in 2016, almost two years later, and a lot of veterans will continue to see great improvements … if they’re not already experiencing that.”

Pfeffer was not on the job Wednesday.

Amy Rohlfs, spokeswoman for the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, wrote in an email to the Star-Advertiser that Pfeffer retired Friday.

“Mr. Pfeffer’s retirement, although sudden, was for personal reasons,” Rohlfs wrote. “The VA is not at liberty to discuss the personal reasons that precipitated Mr. Pfeffer’s decision, as we respect his privacy. Mr. Pfeffer is now a private citizen, and we wish him all the best in his retirement.”

Pfeffer left his post as director of the VA Medical Center in Louisville, Ky., and arrived in Honolulu in October 2013. His VA career had already spanned four decades at the time, and he had told the Star-Advertiser that improving the Hawaii VA system represented the “capstone” of his career.

“I was told this was a really big challenge,” Pfeffer said at the time, “but I’ve devoted my career to helping veterans.”

Pfeffer quickly got in trouble with Hawaii’s congressional delegation as a nationwide scandal erupted over military veterans who were dying while awaiting VA treatment.

At a June 2014 briefing at the federal building in Honolulu, Hawaii’s congressional delegation said their staffs were told by Pfeffer that the VA’s wait time for the Pacific region was somewhere between 30 and 50 days for an incoming patient to get an initial appointment with a primary care physician. Four days later an audit revealed that the actual wait time was 145 days.

Pfeffer said at the time that he was misunderstood and that he meant to say that 30 days referred to his goal for new patient wait times, not the reality.

In the fallout, Gabbard — a captain in the Hawaii Army National Guard who served two combat tours in Iraq — asked the acting secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire Pfeffer “due to his dishonesty, lack of integrity, incompetence and his flagrant lack of transparency.”

In her letter, Gabbard said that four days after the congressional briefing, Pfeffer denied ever discussing wait times.

“This blatant display of dishonesty undermines the nature of public service; additionally, it reflects an arrogant disregard for our veterans and being held accountable to the American people,” she wrote. “In this urgent crisis, there should be zero tolerance for lies or misrepresentation about the dire situation our veterans are facing in Hawaii.”

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz also asked the VA’s acting inspector general to investigate allegations that VA staff members in Hawaii had been ordered to “cook the books” regarding patients’ appointments and that the chief administrator “asked staff to wipe their computers clean regarding patient wait times.”

In a statement Wednesday, Schatz said: “Director Pfeffer may be moving on, but what hasn’t changed is our need to push forward with reforms that improve accountability at the VA and expand access to health care. While we’ve made some progress, there is still more work to do to fully honor our commitment to our veterans.”