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Effective May 22, 2022, Miguel H. LaPuz, M.D., was appointed as the Assistant Under Secretary for Health (AUSH) for Office of Integrated Veteran Care (IVC) and is charged in leading the VA’s efforts to address access and community care for Veterans and beneficiaries. 

Prior being in this role, he served as the Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Health and served as VISN 8 Network Director, where he oversaw healthcare delivery through a system of eight hospitals (two of which are integrated) and nearly 60 primary care and specialty outpatient clinics; eight nursing homes; and five domiciliaries. Serving a population of more than 1.5 million Veterans.

A highly respected leader with a wide breadth of experience, Dr. LaPuz served as the Medical Center Director of the Salem VA Medical Center (VAMC), Salem, Va., from 2011 to 2015. He was also the Chief of Staff at the Salisbury VAMC, in Salisbury, N.C from 2009 to 2011; in 2010, he also served there as the VAMC’s interim Director. From 2005 to 2009, he was the Chief of Staff at the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center, Columbus, OH, and from 2000 to 2005, he served as Chief of Medicine Service at the Dayton VAMC in Dayton, OH.

A native of the Philippines, Dr. LaPuz received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology (Pre-Med focus) in 1978 from the University of the Philippines, Quezon City, R.P., and his medical degree in 1982 from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine in Manila. In 2000, he also earned a Master of Business Administration from Wright State University in Dayton.

Specializing in Nephrology, Dr. LaPuz did his residency in Internal Medicine at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Brooklyn, N.Y., and completed a Fellowship in Nephrology at Long Island College Hospital, also in Brooklyn. He also completed a Fellowship in Molecular Biology Research at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. Named Teacher of the Year at Wright State University’s School of Medicine in 1998, Dr. LaPuz holds professional certifications by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the Healthcare Leadership Institute.

CAREER CHRONOLOGY:

2022 – Present            Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Integrated Veteran Care
2022 – 2022                Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Health
2016 – 2022                Director, Veterans Integrated Service Network 8, VA, St. Petersburg, FL
2017 – 2018                Acting Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Health, VA, Washington DC
2011 – 2015                Medical Center Director, Salem VA Medical Center, Salem, VA
2010                            Interim Director, Salem VA Medical Center, Salem, VA
2009 – 2011                Chief of Staff, Salem VA Medical Center, Salem, VA

EDUCATION:

2000    Masters of Business Administration, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
1982    Doctor of Medicine, University of the Philippines College of Medicine, Manila, R.P.
1978    Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, R.P.