Jersenia Torres MHSA

In her permanent role as the VISN 19 Chief Planning Officer for the VA Rocky Mountain Network (VISN 19), Ms. Torres is responsible for providing direction and oversight for all matters about VISN strategic and operational planning and developing network and market-level service delivery plans to optimize the distribution of health care services.

As the VISN 19 Chief Planning Officer, Ms. Torres has overseen the planning and executing over thirty-four replacement VA Clinics and new care sites across eight healthcare systems in the VA Rocky Mountain Network and other stand-alone services. Ms. Torres has also been instrumental in the successful development and execution of the Tulsa VA Medical Center project, which is the first hospital being built under the CHIP-IN Act.

Prior to this appointment, Ms. Torres has accumulated a wealth of experience in various roles and appointments in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in Washington D.C. From 2012-2018, she served as a Health Systems Specialist (HSS) in the VHA Office of Network Support, a HSS in the VHA Office of the Chief Staff and completed several detail assignments in the VHA Office of Business Operations and the VHA Office of Public Health/HIV, Hepatitis and Public Health Pathogens. Ms. Torres started her VA Career in Nashville, Tennessee where she served as a HSS and Facility Planner in the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System from 2009 to 2013.

While in the VHA Central Office, Ms. Torres managed the development and implementation of the revamped Issue Brief system, led the design and execution of the VHA Travel Trip Pack system, and spearheaded the development of the VHA Client Relations Office, which focused on centralizing and streamlining processes to improve VHA's overall responsiveness to Veterans, employees, and other key stakeholders' concerns.  

Ms. Torres earned a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences from the University of South Florida and a Master of Health Services Administration from the University of Puerto Rico. Ms. Torres is also board-certified in Health Services Administration from the Department of Health of Puerto Rico.