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History is Made as Michigan Sites Go-Live with EHR

Deputy Secretary Dr. Paul Lawrence, Acting Director Natasha Watson, and congressman Tom Barrett talk to crowd
VA Deputy Secretary Dr. Paul Lawrence, Acting Director Natasha Watson, and Congressman Tom Barrett speak with Battle Creek VA Staff on April 11th, to celebrate the Federal Electronic Health Record Go Live

By Brian Pegouske, Chief, Communication & Community Engagement and Minority Veteran Program Coordinator

We have been “Charting the Course” toward adopting the Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) for over a year—a process that actually began several years ago, with our initial preparations.

On April 11, 2026, a historic milestone was reached: four Michigan facilities successfully went live with the new system simultaneously. Achieving this required significant training and dedication from our employees. This accomplishment is not the end of our journey, but rather the start of our transition to the new EHR.

The Federal EHR is designed to advance VA’s mission by supporting high-quality, safe, and efficient health care for Veterans well into the future. The new system promotes nationally standardized health care, making it easier to identify, share, and implement innovations and best practices across the VA.

On Friday, Secretary Collins, along with other Oracle Health and VA executives, conducted a Michigan Market Kick-off event.  Secretary Collins said, “Today marks a new chapter in Veteran healthcare as we restart VA’s EHR modernization effort. The goal is simple – replace outdated systems and provide Veterans with a single, accurate medical record that follows them for life. Our Veterans deserve a healthcare system that works as hard as they did for us.”

To celebrate this historic event, VA Deputy Secretary Dr. Paul R. Lawrence and Congressman Barrett visited the Battle Creek VA Medical Center. During their visit, they toured several departments and personally thanked employees for their hard work. Dr. Lawrence said, “the goal is to make care more seamless for Veterans and easier for providers to manage.” Learn more about the Deputy Secretary's visit in the WWMT article. 

Now that the system is live, VA doctors, nurses, and frontline staff have broader access to a Veteran’s health record. This helps them make more informed care decisions, identify care gaps, improve care coordination, and better match Veterans with the right programs. Staff at other facilities using the Federal EHR report that it is easier to access patient information, track referrals, collaborate across teams, and manage documents.

Veterans will notice several benefits from the new Federal EHR:

  • Veterans will transition more seamlessly from military to VA care, as their records are already integrated into the system—eliminating the need to transfer files themselves.
  • Veterans will spend less time repeating their health history, allowing more time to focus on current concerns with their providers.
  • Veterans will avoid unnecessary repeat tests and exams, since results from the Department of Defense and community providers are already available in the system.
  • When transferring care to another VA or community provider, Veterans will have a smoother experience because the new care team can quickly access all their records, referrals, and orders.
  • As the Federal EHR expands to more facilities, Veterans will benefit from innovative treatment options and more advanced, data-driven care.

This transition marks an exciting new chapter in delivering health care to Veterans, with continued improvements ahead.