New VA Leaders Shulkin and Council Take Oath of Office

Shulkin to Head Veterans Health Care; Council to Head Information Technology

WASHINGTON – Dr. David J. Shulkin and LaVerne Horton Council today took the oath of office where they will serve respectively as Under Secretary for Health and Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  Both were nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate on June 23.

“Dr. Shulkin and Ms. Council bring stellar experience and exceptionally strong leadership to their posts,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald. “Both will play critical roles in making VA a stronger organization for America’s Veterans, and I am looking forward to working with them.”

Dr. Shulkin comes to VA immediately from the position of President at Morristown Medical Center, Goryeb Children’s Hospital and Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute, part of Atlantic Health System. Prior to joining Morristown Medical Center and Atlantic Health, Dr. Shulkin served as President and CEO of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, where he led a financial turnaround and rebuild of the $1.3 billion organization.

Dr. Shulkin also has served in numerous physician leadership roles at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University Hospital and the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital. He is a board-certified internist, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, Professor of Medicine at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and a Senior Fellow at the Health Research and Education Trust of the American Hospital Association. He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania and completed his internship at Yale University School of Medicine.

As Under Secretary for Health, Dr. Shulkin will direct a health care system with an annual discretionary budget of approximately $60 billion, overseeing the delivery of care to more than 9 million enrolled Veterans. VA, the nation’s largest health care system, employs more than 350,000 total employees including over 305,000 health care professionals and support staff at more than 1,200 sites of care, including hospitals, community based outpatient clinics, nursing homes, domiciliaries and 300 Vet Centers.

Ms. Council most recently held the positions of CEO at Council Advisory Services, LLC and Chair of the National Board of Trustees for the March of Dimes. In December 2011, she retired from Johnson & Johnson after serving as Corporate Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Johnson & Johnson’s global IT group. In this capacity, she was responsible for managing IT and related systems for the $61.6 billion Johnson & Johnson worldwide enterprise. She was a member of the Corporate Global Operating Committee and her organization included more than 250 operating companies with more than 4,000 information technology employees and 7,000 contractors.

Before joining Johnson & Johnson, Ms. Council was Global Vice President for IT, Global Business Solutions, and Development Services for Dell, Inc. She also was previously a partner with Ernst and Young and led the company’s Global Supply Chain Strategy practice.

Ms. Council earned a Master’s of Business Administration  in Operations Management from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business from Western Illinois University. In 2010, Ms. Council was presented with a Doctorate of Business Administration, Honoris Causa from Drexel University.

As VA’s Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and CIO, Ms. Council is the single leadership authority for IT and is the principal advisor to the Secretary on all matters relating to the management of VA’s Office of Information and Technology. She will oversee VA’s $4 billion IT portfolio and more than 8,000 IT employees.