We are VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System: Regina Paden

These Veterans come from all walks of life in middle Tennessee, southern Kentucky, and northern Georgia. A team of 5,000 doctors, nurses, administrative staff, engineers, and more, are challenged every day with providing health care for thousands of Veterans.

“We are VA Tennessee Valley, and it is our mission to provide world-class care to our Veterans,” said Daniel Dücker, TVHS Executive Director.

It is a mission that can only be accomplished by the best people.

Helping Deliver the Future

 “Honestly, once you reach 1,000 deliveries, you don’t even count anymore.”

Regina Paden’s unwavering dedication and drive have positively impacted thousands of patients. For 30 years, she was a beacon of leadership for men and women in the U.S. Air Force, and for nearly five remarkable years, she has dedicated her skills and experience to supporting Veterans at TVHS.

Her life has been characterized by relentless efforts to improve the health and well-being of others. Paden began her service career in the Air Force in 1989 after graduating from the University of Tennessee in Memphis with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She commissioned into the Air Force as a 2nd Lt. She started her career in medical surgery, where she worked for two years before being transferred to labor and delivery. That transition inspired a lasting connection with her patients who would follow her for the rest of her career.

After years of dedicated care, Paden had the opportunity to attend Georgetown University through the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1994. There, she earned a master’s degree in nursing and became a certified nurse midwife.

Throughout her career, Paden continually sought to learn and develop new skills to enhance her support to service members and their dependents. 

“There were so many changes [in the Air Force] between 1989 and 2019, and I was blessed to be part of those changes. I served as the Nurse Midwifery Consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General for one of those assignments,” she said.

This role placed incredible responsibility on her to help shape women’s health policies in the Air Force. The challenging job perfectly matched her experience and her constant desire to help others.

As a consultant, Paden supported women across the Air Force, but her time at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, allowed her to help the local community. She was stationed at Keesler just six months after Hurricane Katrina. She played a significant role in rebuilding maternity care services and helping reinstate obstetrical services for 49,000 beneficiaries.

Paden’s work at the senior leadership and frontline level secured a better future for the service and the local community. Her assignment as the supervisor for the Air Force Perinatal Nursing Course enabled her to grow as an educator. This comprehensive program trained service members in pregnancy, labor and delivery, and newborn care.

“Being a part of that program was special,” she said. “We trained labor and delivery nurses for the Air Force and Navy to provide quality care for our active-duty personnel and their dependents.”

Paden worked at multiple levels of care and support to improve the system around her, thereby providing better care for service members and their dependents. Reflecting on her career, she joked that she never imagined she would spend 30 years in the military.

“The plan was to complete my assignment, get my education, and move on with life. But the military kept challenging me, and meeting those challenges was an incredible feeling,” she said.

One of the driving forces that enabled Paden to remain in the Air Force was her family's support.

“I couldn’t have done this without a supportive family,” she said. “There aren’t many husbands out there who would give up their career dreams to follow me.”

Throughout her career, Paden deployed twice, served for two years as the surgical operations commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and had other assignments that geographically separated her from her family. The encouragement from her husband and children kept her connected, even from thousands of miles away.

“I could not have completed 30 years without them. I mean, I couldn’t have done 20 years without them. It was hard not being home for Christmases and birthdays, and sometimes it was difficult not being there to support them during tough times,” she said.

Thanks to her family’s support, Paden successfully transitioned to TVHS after retiring from the Air Force as a colonel. For almost five years, she has been using the incredible experiences and education she has accrued to continue assisting women Veterans.

“I've loved being a midwife, but I also loved being an Air Force officer and being part of that family,” she said. “That’s why I enjoy working at TVHS; I collaborate with the best team in the world in the women’s Veterans program – they’re my second family.”