Carl Vinson VA Medical Center announces new chief of staff

DUBLIN — After more than two years of interim clinical leadership and completing a nationwide search, David L. Whitmer, director of Carl Vinson VA Medical Center, has announced that Dr. John O’Brien has taken over as the new, permanent chief of staff.

The medical center, based in Dublin, has six outpatient clinics located in Macon, Tifton, Albany, Milledgeville, Perry and Brunswick. It covers a 49-county catchment area.

O’Brien began his service to veterans on Monday. Dr. Kedron Heads, who has been acting chief of staff, will return to his position as chief of primary care.

“Dr. O’Brien is an outstanding physician and clinical leader and we are very excited to have recruited him to the serve Veterans here in Georgia,” Whitmer said. “In addition to leading our clinical staff, Dr. O’Brien has a vision to expand our graduate medical education programs and train more clinical residents in Dublin.

“Our goal will be to attract those trainees to continue service in rural areas and particularly in our VA facilities.”

As chief of staff, O’Brien is responsible for ensuring medical providers practice quality healthcare to more than 39,000 veterans in middle and south Georgia. O’Brien is expected to lead efforts to recruit more medical providers and increase medical student residency rotations at the medical center.

“Dr. O’Brien is bringing a wealth of experience in clinical medicine, medical education, research, and administration to the Carl Vinson VAMC. This is a key appointment to our leadership team and will give us stability as we continue to build and improve our clinical programs,” Whitmer said.

O’Brien has served in clinical, academic, medical research and organizational leadership roles at several respected hospitals and facilities including Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, the National Institutes of Health and Indiana University School of Medicine.

Prior to accepting his current position, O’Brien chaired the medicine department at the Ascension Providence Hospitals in Michigan overseeing more than 600 physicians.

He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, fellow in the American College of Physicians, fellow in the American College of Gastroenterology and was selected as the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of American Physician of the Year several years ago. He is board certified in both internal medicine and gastroenterology.

O’Brien has been a principal investigator or co-investigator in several key clinical trials, as well as an independent, funded investigator in “bench” and translational research. This has resulted in his being invited as a lecturer at numerous medical conferences, both nationally and internationally.

As an author or co-author, his work has been published in many peer-reviewed, high-impact medical journals and chapters in books.

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