Primary Care Leadership Opportunity with the VA

This is your opportunity to serve as the Associate Chief of Staff - Primary Care Physician overseeing delivery of comprehensive care at the Walla Walla VA Medical Center. Work with a dynamic, collaborative, and engaged local leadership team to manage high quality & efficient health care on site.

Best Qualified candidates would have the following qualities:

A history of successful prior leadership/management activities (or demonstrate informal leadership training, experience & skills) with the ability to inspire excellence, build teams, collaborate broadly, promote innovation, and be able to create & manage professional accountability on the front line.

Exceptional interpersonal skills, as well as operational and facilitation skills are essential.

Must have the ability to meet VA established performance measure goals and possess a thorough knowledge of the standards of the Veterans Health Administration and other accrediting bodies.

Work Schedule:  Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

For more information send CV to Jason.tafoya@va.gov and to schedule a time to speak with me, copy and paste the URL.

https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/JasonTafoyaVA@DVAGOV.onmicrosoft.com/bookings/

Since 1921, the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center (Walla Walla VAMC) has been improving the health of the men and women who have so proudly served our nation. We consider it our privilege to serve your health care needs in any way we can. Services are available to Veterans living in eastern Washington and Oregon and western Idaho.

The Walla Walla VAMC serves veterans from a 15-county area in the tri-state area that includes Southeastern Washington, Northeastern Oregon and Central-western Idaho. In addition to our main medical center in Walla Walla, we offer a primary care services to our patients in community-based outpatient clinics at Richland and Yakima, Washington, La Grande, Oregon, and Lewiston, Idaho. The Walla Walla VA also has a contract VA Clinic in Grangeville, Idaho.

In addition to our main facility the Walla Walla VAMC serves veterans from a 15-county area in the tri-state area that includes Southeastern Washington, Northeastern Oregon and Central-western Idaho. We offer primary care services in five community-based outpatient clinics. These clinics are located in —

La Grande, Oregon
Lewiston, Idaho
Richland, Washington
Yakima, Washington
Grangeville, Idaho (new contracted VA Outpatient Clinic - more to come)

The Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center is located on an 88-acre campus on the site of historic cavalry fort, Fort Walla Walla, established in 1858. The VA Medical Center serves veterans residing in a 42,000-square-mile primary service area within the VISN 20 network. Services include outpatient primary care, outpatient mental health, specialty care, substance abuse residential rehabilitation, HUD/VASH, and CWT programs.

Paid Time Off:

• 26 Days paid annual (vacation/personal) leave
• 13 Days paid sick leave each year with no limit on accumulation
• 11 Federal holidays with pay annually
• 5 Days paid absence to attend approved CME courses

Insurance:

• Health Insurance: VA employees have an outstanding number of health insurance plans from which to choose (premiums are partially paid by VA) Lifetime Healthcare Insurance options available
• Dental & Vision: Our insurance options also include exceptional vision and dental plans (premiums are partially paid by VA)
• VA employees have the option to use Flexible Spending Accounts, which allow you to use tax-free dollars to pay for medical, dental, and vision care expenses that are not reimbursed by your health insurance plan
• Term life insurance, family, and additional coverage options are available with the cost shared by the Federal Government
• Long-term care insurance is available as an option

Federal Retirement Plan:

• VA employees are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan composed of 1) Social Security benefits, 2) FERS-RAE basic benefits (pension), and 3) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is a 401K-type plan
• How is the pension funded? VA employees automatically contribute 4.4% of their salary each pay period and the VA contributes 12.2% of the employee’s salary each pay period for a total annual contribution percentage equal to 16.6% of the employee’s salary
• Similar to the 401(k) savings plans widely available in the private sector, the TSP allows employees to tax defer a portion of their income each year, subject to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service. For calendar year 2020, employees under the age of 50 may contribute up to $19,500, while those over age 50 are eligible to make catch-up contributions that allow them to defer up to $25,500.
• The Federal Government also provides an automatic basic contribution (1% of salary) and up to 4% of salary in matching contributions, depending on the amount of the employee contribution
• For retired military personnel, these benefits are in addition to full monthly retirement pay or pension
• In addition to FERS, VA provides health care insurance coverage for retired personnel
• Disability Retirement
• Employees are vested in a federal pension after only 5 years service

Although Walla Walla was for a long time best known as the home of the Walla Walla sweet onion, in recent years the buzz around town has been generated more by red wines than by white onions. New wineries have been popping up as fast as champagne corks on New Year's Eve, making this town the single best destination in the state for a few days of wine touring. The explosion of wineries has also brought on a downtown renaissance, with a restored historic hotel, excellent restaurants, and a few wine bars.

Before there was wine, it was onions that made Walla Walla famous (well, maybe not exactly famous). The Walla Walla onion is a big sweet variety, similar to the Vidalia onion of Georgia, and owes its sweetness not to sugar, but to a high-water and low-sulfur content. These onions, which can weigh as much as 2 pounds, are legendary around the Northwest as the best onions for burgers at summer barbecues. Between June and August, produce stands in the area sell big bags of these sweet onions.

This is also a college town with three schools of higher learning: Walla Walla College, Whitman College, and Walla Walla Community College. Due in large part to these colleges, the town wears a rather cultured air. The town's residential streets, lined with stately old homes and large shade trees, add yet another layer to Walla Walla's character. A stroll or drive through the town's old neighborhoods conjures up times past, when the pace of life was slower.

Walla Walla is one of the oldest communities in the Northwest and was the site of both an early mission and one of the region's first forts. Before white settlers arrived, the area was home to several Indian tribes from which the town's name, which means "many waters" or "small, rapid streams," is derived.