Balavenkatesh Kanna MD, MPH, FACP, CPPS, FACHE

Dr. Balavenkatesh Kanna was appointed Director of the JJP Bronx VA Medical Center on July 17th, 2022. In this capacity, Dr. Kanna directs the operations, finances, and clinical programs of the Bronx VAMC, which serves approximately 26,000 individual veterans at the medical center and 3 local Community Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). The Medical Center is a comprehensive healthcare system providing tertiary care to veterans with 311 authorized beds and 80 Nursing Home Care Units and a homeless domiciliary program. Dr. Kanna oversees the research program which has approximately $29 million in peer-reviewed funding, which includes VACO, NIH, and private-funded research.

Dr. Kanna is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and earned the Certified Professional In-Patient Safety credential from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the New York Academy of Medicine.

He has held several clinical and executive leadership positions, including Chief Patient Safety Officer, Associate Chief Medical Officer, and Associate Graduate Medical Education Director & Facility Research Review Chair. Most recently, he oversaw multiple clinical and non-clinical departments as the Chief Operating Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, which has an operating budget of over $600M, an inpatient capacity of 362 beds, and is the busiest Level 1 Trauma Center in the northeast region.

As an Affiliate Assistant Dean for the Weill Cornell Medical College, Dr. Kanna served on the Dean's Council of Affiliated Dean’s committee as a liaison lead. Weill Cornell Medicine is committed to excellence in patient care, scientific discovery, and the education of future physicians in New York City and around the world.