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Dr. Thomas Osborne named one of the 2021 Service to the Citizen Award winners

Dr. Thomas Osborne standing next to a computer
Dr. Thomas Osborne won the 2021 Service to the Citizen Award.
By Michael Hill-Jackson, Deputy Public Affairs Officer

From running the VA National Center for Collaborative Healthcare Innovation to serving as the Chief Medical Informatics Officer at VA Palo Alto Health Care System, it is no doubt that Dr. Thomas Osborne is at the forefront of what is being called the Fourth Industrial Revolution in health care.

Dr. Osborne's leadership on Project Convergence, an initiative to build an extraordinary infrastructure for medical advancements, has earned him the 2021 Service to the Citizen Award.

“It is an absolute honor to serve our Veterans. Grateful for this recognition on behalf of our dedicated team and amazing collaborators that are driven to advance Veteran care.”

Project Convergence brings together Verizon’s 5G technology, Medivis’ 3D holographic clinical visualization software, Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 headset, and engineers to reduce costs and improve the quality and safety of care for our Veterans.

The project also provides a strategy and roadmap for developing additional cutting-edge technologies enabled by 5G networking to advance Veteran health care at VA Palo Alto, one of the first 5G medical campuses in the world.

“This is perhaps the most exciting and dramatic time in medical history. We are faced with a titanic confluence of growing health care challenges. At the same time, we are developing amazing technology that can dramatically advance care. The next generation of digital networks provides the backbone that will help us unlock the potential to dramatically advance health care,” said Dr. Osborne.

The industry-leading companies involved in this project are a great example of the type of partnerships led by the VA National Center for Collaborative Healthcare Innovation (NCCHI) to solve the biggest health care challenges facing our nation. Located in Silicon Valley, NCCHI collaborates broadly with industry, other government agencies, academia, and throughout VA to create a far-reaching positive impact for our Veterans with pioneering technologies.