Celebrating This Year’s Chase Award Recipient

Please join us and Orlando VA Medical Center Director Timothy Cooke as we recognize and celebrate 
Dr. Lisa Zacher, Chief of Staff, Orlando VA Healthcare System (OVAHCS) on receiving the 2025 VHA John D. Chase Award for Executive Excellence in Health Care.   

The Chase Award recognizes sustained executive leadership and professional performance by a VHA executive leader, and Dr. Zacher truly exemplifies its spirit. Her clear and strategic vision and her ability to develop effective partnerships and innovative programs has been critical to the expansion services for Orlando Veterans. As a result of her advocacy for pharmacogenomics, providers are now better able to personally tailor treatment regimens for Veterans.  And her promotion of the Optometry Mobile Medical Unit for Technology-Based Eye Care Services made OVAHCS one of the early implementers of this emerging technology.

Dr. Zacher has also been an incredible advocate for our top priority, preventing Veteran suicide. Recognizing the necessity for specific and intentional interventions to prevent Veteran suicide, she dedicated resources to the mental health service to stand up the At-Risk Monitoring and Outreach Program. This comprehensive umbrella of services supports Veterans at risk for suicide. Both this model and Orlando’s Overdose Review Team have won national attention and have been implemented as other facilities as best practices in suicide prevention. 

It was an absolute honor to present this award to Dr. Zacher at the 2025 AMSUS Annual Meeting on Monday. 

Please join us in sharing the warmest congratulations to Dr. Zacher on a career marked by excellence and dedication to serving our Nation’s heroes.

Steven L. Lieberman, MD, MBA
Acting Under Secretary for Health

Erica M. Scavella, MD, FACP, FACHE,
Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Health

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About the Orlando VA Healthcare System: Established in 2006, the Orlando VA Healthcare System is one of the leading healthcare systems serving more than 142,000 Veterans in the VA Sunshine Health Care Network. offering health care services at 11 locations serving east central Florida. Recently recognized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the healthcare system received 5 out of 5 stars in overall hospital quality. The healthcare system has also been given 5-star recognition for patient experience by Becker’s Hospital Review and was awarded the 2024 Patient Safety Program of Excellence designation from the Veterans Health Administration’s National Center for Patient Safety.

To learn more about the facilities and services offered by the OVAHCS, please visit: VA Orlando Health Care | Veterans Affairs, subscribe to receive email updates by clicking here, like us on Facebook at: Orlando VA Healthcare System | Facebook, follow us on Instagram at: Orlando VA Healthcare System (@ovahcs) • Instagram photos and videos or on Twitter at: @OVAHCS / Twitter.

Melanie Thomas, Public Affairs Officer

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