About us

About VA Central Ohio Health Care System

VA Central Ohio Health Care System Center offers a full spectrum of primary care services, evidence based behavioral health care, specialty medicine services, and same day ambulatory surgery. It also is at the forefront of training future health care providers and conducting important medical research.

Health care and services

Our four VA clinics, standalone behavioral health clinic, and level 2 complexity ambulatory care center provide services in a 14-county area in central Ohio. Facilities include the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center in Columbus, VA clinics in Grove City, Marion, Newark, and Zanesville, and a stand alone behavioral health care facility near the Columbus airport. To learn more about the services each location offers, visit the VA Central Ohio health services page.

VA Central Ohio Healthcare System is a leading health care system and innovative care center in the Veterans Integrated Service Network 10 (VISN 10), which includes medical centers and clinics in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Learn more about VISN 10

Research and development

The Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center has an active and growing research program. We offer Veterans the opportunity to participate in and benefit from our work. Our goal is to use research to promote better health and health care for all.

Major areas of research include:

• Behavioral Health
• Pharmacy and medication outcome analysis
• Social work and homeless prevention

Teaching and learning

The Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center meets one of the four missions of VA through the education and training of our nation’s next generation of health care professionals.  Through partnerships with educational programs across the country, the Chalmers P. Wylie VA provides timely and quality care in conjunction with training programs across the facility. 

Our primary academic affiliations are with Ohio University and Ohio State University. We also maintain affiliations with more than 40 leading colleges, universities, and professional schools throughout the United States in health care fields such as nursing, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, social work, psychology, physician assistants, medical coding and billing, nutrition, audiology, and speech pathology.

Fast facts

• VA Central Ohio Health Care System, also known as Columbus VA, is a level 2 complexity health care center and operates four community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) in Grove City, Marion, Newark and Zanesville and a stand-alone behavioral health clinic located near the Airport. A fifth CBOC is expected to open the fall of 2025.
• Our flagship facility, Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Clinic,is named for scholar, soldier and statesman Chalmers P. Wylie. Born in Norwich, Ohio, and raised in nearby Pataskala, Wylie served in the Army during World War II, graduated from Harvard Law School, and had a long and distinguished career in public service, culminating as a 13-term Congressman representing central Ohio. 
• Our VA outpatient clinic in Newark is named for Daniel L. Kinnard. Raised in Newark, Kinnard served with the Army in Vietnam as a medic. He was killed in action at the age of 18 only weeks after receiving the Bronze Star Medal for bravery.
• In 2024, we served nearly 44,000 Veterans and completed more than 556,000 outpatient visits in 14 counties throughout Central Ohio (Coshocton, Delaware, Franklin, Hardin, Knox, Licking, Madison, Marion, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Perry, Union, and Wyandot).
• We are Joint Commission accredited and part of the larger Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 10 which includes 10 medical centers, and a network of 63 community-based outpatient clinics providing patient-centered care for more than 500,000 Veterans throughout the lower peninsula of Michigan, Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Indiana.

Accreditations and achievements 

Our Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center has received accreditation from:

• The Joint Commission
• The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities

Reports and newsletters

VHA 2024 State of Innovation Report

Executive Leadership and Service Chief Listing

Medical Center Director - Dr. Marc Cooperman -

Associate Director - Chris Yingling -

Asst. Medical Center Director (acting) - Trent Heckman -

Chief of Staff - Dr. Meredith Arensman -

Chief Nurse Executive/Associate - Dr. Amy Potter-

Audiology - Dr. Julie Brumbaugh -

Behavioral Health- Dr. Kimberly Smeltzer-

Canteen - Travionne Martin -

Care Management- Social Work - Deborah Wilson -

Community Care - Tia Chaffin -

Connected Care - Lisa Carr -

Dental - Dr. Matthew Wellejus -

Education - Dr. Brett Irvin -

Environmental Management Services - Rayburn Odell Phillips -

Eye - Dr. Julie Henry -

Financial (FISCAL) - Will Rutledge -

Geriatrics and Extended Care - Bill Bailey -

Group Practice Management - Tyler Winslow -

Health Information Management - Donna Edmondson -

Industrial Hygiene and Safety - vacant 

Information Technology - Wayne Shoaff -

Lab - Dr. Peter Bauer -

Logistics / Supply Chain - Michae Robinson -

Patient Business Services (PBS) - Shirley Thompson -

Pharmacy - Dr. Daniel Knight -

PMRS - Dr. Andrew Iams -

Police and Security - William Robinson -

Primary Care (acting) - Dr. Mudasir Abro -

Prosthetics - Kimberly Charles -

Quality Safety Innovations - Michelle Love -

Radiology - Dr. Julie Rutledge -

Sterile Processing Service - Ernest Johnson -

Surgery - Dr. John Kosko -

UCC - Dr. Hafiz Ayub -

Veteran Experience - Jennifer Sharpe -

CDCE - Jennifer Sharpe (acting) -