VA Announces New Leaders

Among Moves, the Vacant Director Position in Erie, PA, to Be Filled

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced four senior leader appointments at facilities in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“At VA, we are constantly seeking ways to improve, and these personnel moves make us better across the board,” said VA Under secretary for Health Dr. David J. Shulkin. “Each individual is a proven leader who will be a strong advocate for Veterans.”

John A. Gennaro, the current Director of the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, has been selected to fill the vacant Director’s position at the Erie VA Medical Center in Pennsylvania.  In the new role, Mr. Gennaro will oversee a staff of more than 700 who provide health care services to 22,000 Veterans and a budget of $144 million.

Mr. Gennaro brings extensive experience and leadership to the new post. Prior to the new assignment, he oversaw the delivery of health care to more than 43,000 Veterans, a staff of 2,000 and an annual budget of approximately $387 million at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. During his time there,

Mr. Gennaro led the facility through numerous improvements, most notably achieving a 5-star rating. Prior to that, he served in a similar capacity for VA’s Butler Healthcare.  He began his career with the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Research Foundation at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. When he takes over duties in Erie, he returns to that facility where he once served as its Associate Director.

Glenn Costie, the current Medical Center Director in Dayton, will fill the role of Acting Director in Cincinnati. He brings more than 30 years’ experience to the post, having worked at VA Medical Centers in Chicago, IL; West Haven, CT; Cleveland, OH; Baltimore, MD; and Poplar Bluff, MO. Mr. Costie is expected to fill the Acting Director’s role until a permanent director is hired; nationwide recruitment for the position has begun.

Mark Murdock, who has been on a temporary assignment the past six months as the Acting Director at the Northern Indiana Health Care System, will return to the Dayton VA Medical Center as its Acting Director. Before his temporary assignment at the Northern Indiana Health Care System, IN, Mr. Murdock was the Associate Director for the Dayton facility. Mr. Murdock brings more than a decade of leadership experience in healthcare delivery services.

Jay Miller, Associate Director for the Northern Indiana Health Care System, will assume the position as Acting Medical Center Director for that facility while a permanent Director is sought. Mr. Miller has 25 years of leadership experience within VA, which includes VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, MI; Battle Creek VA Medical Center, MI; VA Central Alabama Healthcare System, AL; Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center, MI; and North Chicago VA Medical Center, IL.

The Erie VA Medical Center is a Joint Commission accredited, complexity level three facility serving Veterans in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio. The medical center’s mission is to Provide Exceptional Health Care to Veterans.  The two highest volume services provided include Primary Care and Behavioral Health.  For more information about the Erie VA Medical Center, visit www.erie.va.gov.

The Cincinnati VA Medical Center provides care to more than 43,000 Veterans living in 17 counties in southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana. The facility is a two-division campus located in Cincinnati, Ohio and Fort Thomas, Kentucky, with six community-based outpatient clinics (in Bellevue, KY; Florence, KY; Lawrenceburg, IN; Hamilton, OH; Clermont County, OH; and Georgetown, OH).  For more information about the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, visit www.cincinnati.va.gov.

The Dayton VA Medical Center is a state of the art teaching facility that has been serving Veterans for 148 years, having accepted its first patient in 1867. The Dayton VA Medical Center provides a full range of health care through medical, surgical, mental health (inpatient and outpatient), home and community health programs, geriatric (nursing home), physical medicine and therapy services, neurology, oncology, dentistry and hospice. For more information about that facility, visit www.dayton.va.gov/about/index.asp

The VA Northern Indiana Health Care System was formed in 1995 by the integration of the VA Medical Centers in Fort Wayne and Marion, Indiana. The Fort Wayne Campus offers primary and secondary medical and surgical services, and the Marion Campus offers a full range of psychiatry services, nursing home care and extended care services. Primary care clinics are available at both campuses and at Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) located in Peru, Goshen, South Bend and Muncie, Indiana. For more information, visit www.northernindiana.va.gov.