WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Hershel W. Gober last week appointed Dr. Frances M. Murphy as the Deputy Under Secretary for Health, the highest position ever held by a woman in VA’s health care system.
“For the past 14 years I’ve worked to improve veterans access to quality health care. It brings me great satisfaction and pride to serve veterans, true American heroes.” said Murphy.
Murphy has been the Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Health since August 1999. In this position, she serves as the chief operating officer for the nation’s largest integrated health care system, with more than 1,200 sites of care, including 172 medical centers, almost 700 outpatient clinics and 100 long-term care facilities. Perhaps the most visible of all VA benefits and services, VA health care was provided to more than 3.6 million veterans last year.
“Dr. Murphy has played a critical role in VA’s drive toward a better health care system,” said Under Secretary of Health Thomas L. Garthwaite. “With her help, VA has become a system that is more performance-based and quality-driven; more attentive to veterans, families and their communities; and better supported by medical education, research, and information systems.”
A Rochester, N.Y., native, Murphy received her M.D. degree, cum laude, in 1979, from Georgetown University School of Medicine and a masters in public health from the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in 1993. A board-certified neurologist, Murphy is a U.S. Air Force veteran, who served as a neurologist at Andrews Air Force Base from 1983-87. In 1987, Murphy joined VA as the assistant chief of the Neurology Service at the Washington, D.C., medical center. She also served as chief consultant for Occupational and Environmental Health, responsible for Gulf War, Agent Orange, mustard gas and occupational health care programs. Murphy is an internationally recognized expert in veterans’ health and has served as a consultant to Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
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