Page 24 - Desert Oracle January 2020

500 Hwy 89 N.
Prescott, AZ 86313
www.prescott.va.gov

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January 2, 2020

Northern Arizona VA Health Care System
Interim Medical Center Director

Ms. Jean Gurga, Associate Director (AD) for the VA Long Beach Health Care System has been
appointed as the Interim Medical Center Director at Northern Arizona VA Health Care System
(NAVAHCS) effective on January 5, 2020.

Ms. Gurga has over 23 years of VA health care experience in Quality, Ambulatory Care, and
Occupational Therapy. Since December 2017, she has served as the Associate Director at the VA
Long Beach Healthcare System overseeing facility operations for Engineering, Fiscal, Health
Administration, Human Resources, and Supply Chain. She also serves as the executive in charge
for Information Technology and Contracting services for the facility.

Ms. Gurga previously served as the Chief, Office of Quality, Safety & Value (QSV) at VA Palo
Alto Health Care System. In that role, she was responsible for leading the operations and
strategic direction for QSV with programmatic responsibilities for quality & safety, infection
prevention & control, patient experience, process improvement, and the office of education. In
addition, Ms. Gurga worked closely with executive leadership in building Palo Alto’s continuous
improvement infrastructure and the deployment of their Lean management system. For several
years, she coached and facilitated improvement projects at the local, network, and national level.
Ms. Gurga formerly served as the Assistant Chief of Ambulatory Care Service and was as an
occupational therapist for ten years with her last clinical position being Chief of Occupational
Therapy at Palo Alto.

Ms. Gurga is a member of the American College of Health Care Executives. She holds a
graduate degree in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University - Boston School of Occupational
Therapy and an undergraduate degree in Business Economics from Mills College. In 2017, Ms.
Gurga graduated from VHA’s Health Care Leadership Development Program and in 2011 she
graduated from the Partnership for Public Service's Excellence in Government Fellows Program.