VA Portland Health Care System

New VAPORHCS Director Announced

PORTLAND, Oregon - The Department of Veterans Affairs is pleased to announce the appointment of Darwin Goodspeed as the new Director of the VA Portland Health Care System. Goodspeed will oversee delivery of health care to more than 94,930 Veterans and an operating budget of $729 million.

“We are excited to bring Mr. Goodspeed on board as the new director of the VA Portland Health Care System,” said Michael J. Murphy, Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 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.  His start date is November 25, 2018.”

Goodspeed joined the VA more than 10 years ago and has held progressive leadership positions in Texas, Ohio and Sioux Falls. Most recently, he served as the medical center director at the VA Sioux Falls HCS, a complexity level 2 facility with 40 acute medical/surgical beds and 58 Community Living Center beds. The SFVAHCS has nearly 1,000 employees who provide care to over 27,000 Veterans in eastern South Dakota, northwestern Iowa and southwestern Minnesota.

Goodspeed holds a Master of Healthcare Administration from Baylor University and is a Certified Mentor and a Government Fellow. He is also a recipient of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, a Meritorious Service Medal and a Navy Achievement medal.   He is a graduate of the Veterans Health Administration’s Executive Career Field Development Program and the VA Executive Career Field program. 

The VA Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS) is a two-division, Joint Commission accredited 1A facility that administers a full range of primary, emergency, specialty, tertiary, and long-term care to Veterans throughout Oregon and Southwestern Washington. In addition to two main divisions located in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington, VAPORHCS operates nine Community Based Outpatient/Outreach Clinics (CBOCs) located in Newport, Lincoln City, Warrenton, Bend, Salem, Fairview, downtown Portland, West Linn, Hillsboro, and The Dalles. The VAPORHCS catchment area covers more than 30,000 square miles and 26 counties. In addition to these clinics, VAPORHCS also operates a Community Resource & Referral Center (CRRC) which serves homeless Veterans in downtown Portland. VAPORHCS has a $729M annual budget with over 4,000 employees and volunteers. The Portland campus includes 167 Medical/Surgical, locked Mental Health, and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds. The Vancouver campus includes a 72-bed Community Living Center (CLC), a 35-bed Residential Rehab Treatment Program, and a transitional Transplant Lodging Unit. Approximately 750 medical residents, 300 medical students, 240 nursing students and 230 students from other healthcare fields rotate through VAPORHCS annually.

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