New Associate Director Patient Care Services/ Nurse Executive
Linda Bugg, MSN, RN, has been appointed Associate Director, Patient Care Services/Nurse Executive, effective Nov. 2, 2025.
Bugg joined the Western North Carolina VA Health Care System in 2010 as nurse manager for the medical intensive care unit and became chief nurse of Acute Care and Operations in 2013. She has been instrumental in advancing nursing standards, serving as chair of the Nurse Professional Standards Board and VISN 6 consultant, as well as helping develop and implement new nurse qualification standards nationwide.
A graduate of the Veterans Health Administration Health Care Leadership Development Program, Bugg has also served as acting associate director for Patient Care Services at Hines VA in Chicago and Richmond VA in Virginia.
Her leadership has strengthened shared governance, staff engagement, and the American Nurses Credentialing Center Pathway to Excellence designation at WNCVAHCS. A native of western North Carolina, she enjoys hiking, reading, gardening, beach trips, and spending time with her husband, Tim, and their two daughters.
This story is also featured in the Gaurdians Magazine: https://www.va.gov/files/2025-11/Guardias%20Vol%201.%20Issue%203%20FV%203.pdf