Network names new chief medical officer
October 31, 2022
Air Force Veteran named as new VA Heart of Texas Healthcare Network chief medical officer
by Kat Bailey, VISN Chief Communications Officer
ARLINGTON, Texas--The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced
the appointment of Stephen Holt, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.N.R.S. as the new chief medical officer for the VA Heart of Texas Healthcare Network (VISN 17).
“We are excited to bring Dr. Holt’s sound leadership and trust on board as the new chief medical officer for the VA Heart of Texas Healthcare Network,” said Network Director Wendell Jones, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.P., C.P.E. “His servant leadership and proven experience will be valuable assets for this healthcare network, the employees, and most importantly, for the Veterans we are honored to serve.”
VISN (Veterans Integrated Service Network) 17 encompasses most of the state of Texas - approximately 240,000 square miles - and has administrative offices in Arlington and San Antonio. Currently, VISN 17 oversees seven medical centers located in Dallas, Temple, Big Spring, Amarillo, El Paso, San Antonio, and Harlingen.
Previously the chief executive officer of the North Texas VA Healthcare System in Dallas, Holt, a retired Air Force colonel, been the acting VISN 17 chief medical officer for clinical services since May 2022. During his VA career, he also worked as the assistant chief of staff of education at VA Central Texas Healthcare System in Temple, Texas; the deputy chief of staff at the North Texas VA; the VISN 7 chief medical officer in Duluth, Georgia; and the executive medical center director at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Chicago.
Holt’s many accomplishments during his VA career include creation and delivery of a senior level U.S. Department of Defense to VA transition course, co-creation and delivery of a new senior executive orientation course, and membership in the VA Central Office Servant Leadership Group and the National Center for Organization Development Psychological Safety Workgroup.
Board certified in aerospace medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine, Holt also served as the aerospace medicine consultant to the U.S. Air Force Surgeon General, overseeing 3,500 personnel at 77 worldwide locations. Previously board certified in occupational and environmental medicine, he was the residency director and the graduate education chair for the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine Occupational Medicine Residency.
Recognized as the 2011 VA Employee of the Year, Holt holds a medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Services, a master’s degree in Public Health, and master’s in National Resource Strategy.
