Former VA secretary to become Sanford chief innovation officer

Sept. 11, 2018

Dr. David Shulkin, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, is joining Sanford Health as chief innovation officer.

Shulkin will serve Sanford Health as its top administrator in the innovation space, leading initiatives to advance work in research, Imagenetics, the Sanford Chip, Profile and World Clinic. His experience will help drive the systems’ continued clinical development as well as serving as a strategic adviser on Sanford’s national growth strategy and overall public policy efforts, the health system said in a statement.

Shulkin will be a director on the Sanford International Board and serve as an ambassador for Sanford Health on many of the system’s domestic and international projects. In addition to his strategic role for Sanford, he will continue to work with others in academia and the health care industry, providing strategic direction and advice on national health care issues.

“Secretary Shulkin is one of the most talented health care leaders in the country, and he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Sanford Health,” said Kelby Krabbenhoft, president and CEO. “His unique perspective, clinical expertise and powerful voice will further Sanford Health’s continued development and diversification, which is so critical to our ability to bring new treatments and cures to the patients we serve.”

Shulkin served as the ninth secretary of the VA and was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017. He was the only Cabinet member to be unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Trump dismissed him earlier this year. Shulkin later talked about being politically pressured to dismantle the VA and privatize veterans’ health care.

Before serving as secretary of the department, Shulkin was the leader of the largest integrated health care system in the United States as the VA’s undersecretary of health. He served in chief executive roles for Beth Israel Medical Center and Morristown Medical Center and as chief medical officer for the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Temple University Hospital and the Medical College of Pennsylvania Hospital.

“After completing my work in the public sector, Sanford Health was an obvious choice to continue my health care career,” Shulkin said.  “Sanford’s unique brand of innovation and clinical integration is bringing precision medicine to the bedside,  which is rapidly improving patient care in unprecedented ways.  I look forward to joining the Sanford team and bringing my background and skills to help drive these advancements in medical practice.”

Shulkin received his medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania and is a board-certified internist. He completed an internship at Yale University School of Medicine and a residency and fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Presbyterian Medical Center.

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Former VA secretary to become Sanford chief innovation officer

Dr. David Shulkin, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, is joining Sanford Health as chief innovation officer.

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