GEC Leadership
Dr. Hartronft, Dr. Kelso and Ms. Schmitz together with Office of Geriatrics & Extended Care staff, lead efforts to provide programs and services in a range of health care settings, such as acute care, home care, extended care, purchased home care, hospice and palliative care and community- and facility-based care.
Scotte R. Hartronft, MD, MBA, FACP
Executive Director, VA Office of Geriatrics & Extended Care
Veterans Health Administration
Dr. Hartronft is a U.S. Army Veteran, Certified Physician Executive, Fellow of the American College of Physicians, Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and was Associate Dean and Clinical Professor at the UCLA School of Medicine. As Executive Director his responsibilities cover the care of Veterans of all ages with complex care needs and overseeing a $9 billion budget.
He assumed this role in August 2019. Prior to that, he served in senior VA field positions, including Chief of Staff, VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, Deputy Chief of Staff, VA Puget Sound Health Care System and Associate Chief of Staff, South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio.
Dr. Hartronft received his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and completed his Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. After graduating from medical school, he went onto active duty in the U.S. Army and completed both an internship and residency in Internal Medicine and completed the joint VA/DoD Geriatric Medicine fellowship program. He served on active duty in the U.S. Army for eight years until 2006 before coming to the VA. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine.
Catherine McVearry Kelso, MD, MA
Deputy Executive Director, VA Office of Geriatrics & Extended Care
Veterans Health Administration
Dr. Catherine Kelso serves as the Deputy Executive Director for Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) in the Office of Patient Care Services. As the Deputy Executive Director for GEC, Dr. Kelso provides national leadership to and has advisory and consultative responsibility for all VHA geriatric and long-term care programs and initiatives.
She joined VHA in 2006 at the VISN 6 Richmond VAMC and has provided exceptional clinical health care to Veterans and their families. She led education and training for interdisciplinary trainees in collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University as an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine.
Most recently, Dr. Kelso served as the Associate Chief of Staff for Geriatrics and Extended Care at the Central Virginia VA Medical Center in Richmond, VA.
Prior to joining VA, Dr Kelso joined Virginia Commonwealth University, Division of Geriatric Medicine. Her early career focus included care delivery in community nursing homes, inpatient geriatric consultation and serving as Course Director in the VCU School of Medicine. In 2004, she received a Geriatric Academic Career Award and focused her professional development and expertise in palliative care, communication, bioethics and leadership.
Dr. Kelso received her medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College and completed her Master of Arts in Bioethics and Health Policy at Loyola University Chicago. She also holds a BSN from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and a Master of Science in Primary Care Nursing/Adult Nurse Practitioner from George Washington University School of Medicine.
Cheryl Schmitz, MS, RN, CNS-BC, NE-BC
Deputy Executive Director, Home and Community Based Purchase Care (HCBPC) and Business Operations and Management (BOM)
VA Office of Geriatrics & Extended Care
Veterans Health Administration
Cheryl Schmitz serves as the Deputy Executive Director of Home and Community Based Purchase Care (HCBPC) and Business Operations and Management (BOM) within the Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC), Patient Care Services. She has been a Registered Nurse for more than 25 years working in various inpatient and outpatient settings in the private healthcare arena. She began her VHA career in 2017, initially with the Office of Community Care but joined the Office of GEC as National Director early in 2020. While in GEC, she has led the HCBPC programs through the approval and early phases of a 5-year, more than $200M expansion as well as the creation and initiation of the first Veteran satisfaction survey for Veterans receiving purchased home care.
Prior to joining VACO, Ms. Schmitz worked for the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the Magnet Recognition Program. In her role with the Magnet Program, she collaborated with the Commission on Magnet in the development of future standards for evaluating nursing excellence as well as the creation of the 2019 Magnet Application Manual. She partnered with healthcare executives world-wide as they worked with their organizations to elevate nursing practice and achieve Magnet designation. Additionally, she had the opportunity to represent the Magnet Recognition Program and speak at international conferences and state-level consortiums. After leaving her position within the Magnet Program Office in 2017, she has maintained her ties to international nursing excellence as an Appraiser for the Magnet Recognition Program.
Ms. Schmitz earned a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from the University of Colorado, Boulder prior to obtaining her BSN from Colorado State University and being inducted into Sigma Theta Tau as an undergraduate nursing student. She earned her master’s degree in Nursing in an Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist program at the University of Colorado, Denver.
