Michelle S. Werner was appointed Associate Director of the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit in May 2017.
As Associate Director of the medical center, Ms. Werner is responsible for the administrative services that support the clinical mission of the medical center, which include Financial Services, Facility Management Services, Environmental Management Services, Human Resources, Logistics, Business Practice, Protection and Support Services, Safety, Privacy/FOIA, Decision Support System and Emergency Management.
A Department of Veterans Affairs employee since 1996, Ms. Werner has served in a number of roles, most recently she was the Chief of Clinical Operations. She is a Registered Occupational Therapist, launching her career at the VA as an Occupational Therapy intern. She has supervised the medical center’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation program, served as Administrative Officer to the Chief of Staff, and completed details at the VISN office in Ann Arbor, Michigan and at VA Central Office in Washington D.C.
In her role as Chief of Clinical Operations, she provided strategic development and oversight for critical support services including inpatient and outpatient scheduling, Quality and Performance, Patient Safety, Volunteer and Community Relations, the Telephone Call Center and Clinical Informatics. Her focus on strategic planning and patient access has been widely noted both in the network and on a national level.
Ms. Werner received her B.S. in Occupational Therapy from Eastern Michigan University and a certificate in Healthcare Data Analytics from Nebraska Methodist College. She is a certified VA Mentor, a Graduate of the VA Health Care Leadership Development Program, a Graduate of the VISN 11 Leadership Development Program and the VISN 11 Executive Academy.