In April, I reported that Dr. Stephen Ondra, professor of neurological surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, had emerged as the likely candidate for under secretary for health at the Veterans Health Administration.
Ondra, an Army Gulf War vet who did his residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center appears even closer to landing the to VA health job, I have learned. He now has a policy-making GS Schedule C appointment and a VA e-mail address.
VA Secretary Eric Shinseki needs to go through a formal process -- which will include the formation of a search committee to interview, evaluate, and recommend candidates for the position -- and while that goes on, I've heard Ondra is serving as a top-level adviser to Shinseki.
Ondra, I'm told, has health information technology in his portfolio, and is working with key players, including Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and Charles Campbell, CIO at the Military Health System.
Ondra, a spine surgeon, is a bit of a medical computer whiz, and has used the VA's Chicago Motion Analysis Research Laboratory to help analyze patients before treating them.
The Motion Analysis Research Laboratory taps into the same technology used for special effects by Hollywood. Ondra uses the lab to analyze how a patient moves, including posture and gait.
But, can he help resolve the replacement patient scheduling application debacle?
COMMENTS
Presidential Appointments for Sale?
Yes, it appears that Dr. Ondra may be qualified for this position but it also looks like he's trying to BUY the appointment by donating OVER $30,000 to Obama and Obama-connected groups over the last 2 years:
Donations to Obama Campaign:
01/17/2007 $2100.00
02/23/2007 $2300.00
01/11/2008 $2300.00
Donations to: OBAMA VICTORY FUND
10/29/2008 $3000.00
Donations to COMMITTEE FOR CHANGE:
0/14/2008 $10,000.00
10/23/2008 $1.000.00
Donations to OBAMA VICTORY FUND:
08/11/2008 $500.00
0/06/2008 $10,000.00
Donations to BLUE ILLINOIS 2008:
06/30/2008 $1,000.00
10/22/2008 $500
Sam Bear, MD 07/09/09 05:36 pm ET
One wonders about the extent of Dr. Ondra's managerial experience given that the Under Secretary for Health in VA is responsible for the largest health care system in the US. It is also interesting how the new VA leadership is giving Dr. Ondra a significant opportunity to enhance his CV with VA-related experience that might otherwise have been lacking.
Further, we hope that this is not an attempt by the new Administration to undermine the statutorily mandated Search Commission process and discourage additional applicants for the position (who may now view the selection to be pre-determined) or worse, to seek legislative relief from the current statutory process.
Lastly, we observe that the Congress modified the statute governing the appointment process and qualifications required for the Under Secretary of Health position to permit the appointment of a non-physician. This served to significantly expand the potential pool of superbly qualified candidates for the USH position. One can hope that this reality is not lost on the Search Commission.
VA Fan 06/24/09 09:10 am ET