VA NW Health Network, VISN 20 announce VA Puget Sound Health Care System Executive Director

The Department of Veterans Affairs is pleased to announce the appointment of Thomas Bundt as the new Executive Director of VA Puget Sound Health Care System.  

“We are excited to bring Dr. Bundt on board as the new executive director of VA Puget Sound Health Care System,” said Teresa D. Boyd, Veterans Integrated Service Network 20 Director.  “His sound leadership qualities and proven experience will be valuable assets for the facility, the employees and volunteers, and most importantly, for the Veterans we are honored to serve.”

Dr. Bundt has 20 years of progressive experience in DoD leadership, with a focus on healthcare and one year serving as the Deputy Executive Director at the VA Puget Sound.  In that role, he oversaw the operations of the American Lake division and provided oversight of Strategic Planning, DoD/VA partnerships, and supply chain management for the health care system Within DoD he served as the Principal Deputy to the Assistant Director for Management, a Tier 3 Senior Executive responsible for managing the optimization of all DHA resources to facilitate better health, improve readiness and ensure high-quality care at reduced cost across the Military health System for over 9.6 million eligible beneficiaries.

Dr. Bundt holds a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, a Doctor of Philosophy, Health Service Research, from the University of Florida, Master of Health Care Administration and Business Administration from the University of Florida, A Master of Liberal Arts from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Washington. 

VA Puget Sound is a Joint Commission-accredited, level 1-A tertiary health care system comprised of 11 care sites: two main campuses (American Lake and Seattle), seven outpatient clinics (Edmonds, Everett, Mount Vernon, Olympia, Port Angeles, Puyallup and Silverdale) and two Community Resource & Referral Centers (Georgetown in Seattle and Renton). Under its regional office, Veterans Integrated Service Network 20, VA Puget Sound treats a growing population of approximately 120,000 Veterans enrolled with primary care providers. This is expanded to the Pacific Northwest five-state area for specialized care through its regional hubs: Bone Marrow & Lung Transplant; Brachytherapy Program; Mental Illness Research, Education & Clinical Center; and Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation & Treatment Program as well as its seven Centers of Excellence (Multiple Sclerosis; Substance Abuse Treatment and Education; Epilepsy; Primary Care Education; Limb Loss Prevention and Prosthetic Engineering; Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care; and ALS). With its 414-bed academic medical center in Seattle, it maintains a primary affiliation with the University of Washington, while maintaining more than 150 active health, graduate medical education, nursing undergraduate, graduate and research affiliations in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. VA Puget Sound’s main local affiliates include the University of Washington, Seattle Pacific University, and Pacific Lutheran University. It draws approximately 1,700 trainees each year because of its innovative and progressive training opportunities. VA Puget Sound Research—fourth largest in VHA—operates two National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research centers with a $33 million budget that funds over 700 active research projects on Veteran health. Examples: traumatic brain Injury and multiple blast exposures, PTSD and deployment health, memory improvement and Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes and cancer.

Megan Crowley, VISN 20 Public Affairs Officer

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