VISN 15

• St. Louis VA Health Care SystemSt. Louis, Missouri
• Kansas City VA Medical CenterKansas City, Missouri
• Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans HospitalColumbia, Missouri
• Eastern Kansas Health Care SystemLeavenworth and Topeka, Kansas
• Robert J. Dole VA Medical CenterWichita, Kansas
• Marion VA Medical CenterMarion , Illinois
• John J. Pershing VA Medical CenterPoplar Bluff, Missouri

Our Leadership

• Patricia L. Hall PhD. FACHE

  Patricia L. Hall PhD. FACHE

  VISN 15 Director

  

  Patricia L. Hall, PhD, FACHE was appointed Network Director for VISN 15, the VA Heartland Network, effective August 28, 2022. As the Network Director, she leads 69 sites of care in Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois, including seven VA Medical Centers, 58 associated Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), and 2 Health Care Centers. The network has an operations budget over 4 billion dollars with 13,750 employees and serves 320,000 Veterans annually.

  Dr. Hall is a Veteran of the U.S. Army.  She served in the military from 1990 to 2016 and retired as a U.S. Army Colonel.  During her military career, she served as hospital commander of the 452nd Combat Support Hospital in both Salerno, Afghanistan and Camp Arifjan Kuwait. Dr. Hall is a Veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Restore Hope and is a Bronze Star recipient.

   Dr. Hall holds a Doctor of Health Administration from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota; a Master’s degree in Adult Health from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee; and a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Additionally, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee.

   Dr. Hall has held several VA leadership positions. She has served as the Director/CEO of the Harry S Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital in Columbia, Missouri; as Director/CEO of John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri; as Associate Director of Patient Care Services at the Kansas City VA Medical Center in Missouri and the Tomah VA Medical Center in Wisconsin; and as acting Director/CEO of the St. Louis VA Health Care System.

   Dr. Hall’s husband, Bradley, is also a retired colonel. The couple has two adult children – Abigail, a U.S. Army Veteran, and Aaron, who currently serves in the U.S. Air Force.

  VISN 15 Director

  

• Angela Athmann MHA, MBA, RHIA

  Angela Athmann MHA, MBA, RHIA

  VISN 15 Deputy Network Director

  

  Angela N. Athmann, MHA, MBA, RHIA is currently the VISN 15 Deputy Network Director, a position she has held since April 2022.  In her role, she provides leadership and direction for the activities of the Chief Logistics Officer, Capital Asset Manager,  Business Implementation Manager, VISN Security Officer, VISN Prosthetic Representative, Chief Fiscal Officer, and Financial Quality Assurance Manager. Prior to her appointment, she held the position of Assistant Director for the Kansas City VA Medical Center, since September 2016. She was responsible for the daily operations of the VA Medical Center’s business office, logistics operations, prosthetics operations, voluntary service, and nutrition and food service lines. Ms. Athmann began her VA career in June 2007 as an Administrative Resident at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System. From December 2007-May 2009, Ms. Athmann was the Health System Specialist for Performance Measures at the VA North Texas Health Care System. In May 2009-November 2013, Ms. Athmann was selected as the Executive Assistant to the Director at the VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System. During this time, she was also Acting Associate Director from September 2011-April 2012. Ms. Athmann was appointed as the Administrative Service Manager for the Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center in Bonham, Texas in November 2013-September 2016.

  Ms. Athmann is a 2014 graduate of VHA’s Healthcare Leadership Development Program and the VISN 17 Leadership Development Institute (LDI) Program. A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, Ms. Athmann received a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in 2003 and Master’s Degrees in Business Administration and Health Care Administration from the University of Houston-Clear Lake in 2008. Ms. Athmann is a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) certified by AHIMA.

  VISN 15 Deputy Network Director

  

• Ahmad Batrash MD

  Ahmad Batrash MD

  VISN 15 Chief Medical Officer

  

  Dr. Batrash was the Chief of Staff/Chief Medical Officer of the Kansas City VA Medical Center (KCVAMC) since September 2014. Dr. Batrash first joined the Kansas City VA Medical Center in 2000 as an Internist and Geriatrician for Primary Care. In 2003, he established the Hospitalist section and was the section chief. He also served as the KCVAMC site program director for the University of Kansas Internal Medicine Residency Program from 2005 – 2010. Dr. Batrash served as the Chief of Medical Sub-Specialty Service for five years prior to becoming the Chief of Staff. He is a graduate of Damascus University Faculty of Medicine in 1993 and completed his Internal Medicine residency, Chief Residency, and Geriatric Medicine fellowship at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. Dr. Batrash holds two board certifications in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a graduate of the VA Physician Leadership Development Program and is a recipient of the Leadership Excellence Award.

  VISN 15 Chief Medical Officer

  

• Toby Underwood DM, MSN, NEA-BC, CPHQ

  Toby Underwood DM, MSN, NEA-BC, CPHQ

  VISN 15 Chief Nursing & Patient Care Officer

  

  Dr. Underwood previously served as Chief Nursing and Quality Management Officer, VA Sierra Pacific Network, VISN 21 (Pleasant Hill, California) since September 2019. In this role, she oversaw all quality and nursing clinical programs, operations, and services for the network. As Chief Quality Management and Nursing Officer, Dr. Underwood had executive oversight of seven VA Health Care Systems in Northern and Central California, Nevada, Hawaii, Philippines and U.S. Territories in the Pacific Basin, 59 Community Based Outpatient Clinics. She held direct full-line authority and responsibility for Patient Safety, Risk Management, Quality Improvement, Accreditation and Regulatory Oversight Programs, System Redesign/Innovation Services, Integrated Ethics, High Reliability Services, and Patient Care/Nursing Services for the region.

  Dr. Underwood received her nursing degree from the University of Tulsa in 1995 and completed her Masters of Nursing from the University of Phoenix in August of 2004. Dr. Underwood obtained her Doctorate of Management with a focus on Health Care Administration in April of 2019. Dr. Underwood is a Certified Professional in Health Care Quality (CPHQ) and a Board Certified Nurse Executive (NE-BC). Dr. Underwood is a graduate of the VA Leadership Development Institute and the VA Healthcare Leadership Development Program. Dr. Underwood’s special interests include organizational citizenship and servant leadership. Dr. Underwood has served in various roles within the VA since 2003. Dr. Underwood’s previous roles in VA include VISN 21 Sierra Pacific Network Chief Nursing Officer, VISN 21 Sierra Pacific Network Quality Management Officer, Chief of Quality Safety Value at the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System, Chief Nurse of Inpatient Services at the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System, Quality Improvement Specialist at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System, Intensive Care Unit Nursing Manager, and various Nursing leadership roles at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System. Prior to joining the VA, Dr. Underwood held several health care executive leadership positions within private industry, Director of Clinical and Nursing Services, Chief Quality Officer, and Quality Improvement Consultant at various organizations and hospitals within Oklahoma.

   

  VISN 15 Chief Nursing & Patient Care Officer

  

• Melody Queenan, DNP, RN, NE-BC

  Melody Queenan, DNP, RN, NE-BC

  VISN 15 Quality Management Officer

  

  Dr. Queenan has been the VISN 15 Deputy Quality Management Officer for the VA Heartland Network since March of 2020. Prior to her appointment she was the Quality, Safety, and Value (QSV) Service Chief for the Kansas City VA Medical Center. She has over 34 years of experience within the realms of nursing leadership, evidence-based practice, quality of care, and process improvement.

  Dr. Queenan obtained her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Kansas in 2018, a Master of Science in Nursing Leadership from the University of Kansas in 2014. She was awarded the 1989 National Veterans Administration Scholarship Award and worked on the Cardio-Pulmonary, Medical-Surgical Unit at the Kansas City VAMC. She holds board certifications as a Nurse Executive and with the American Medical Informatics Association 10 x 10. She is a graduate of the VA Healthcare Leadership Development Program (HCLDP) in 2021

  VISN 15 Quality Management Officer