Our Leadership

• Mrs. Sunaina Kumar-Giebel

  Mrs. Sunaina Kumar-Giebel

  Network Director

  

  Sunaina Kumar-Giebel became the Deputy Network Director in July 2014. In this role she serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the VA Rocky Mountain Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 19. She is responsible for the operations, management, planning, budgeting, and service delivery in the provision of healthcare in eight Health Care Systems and 120 additional sites of care .The Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Oklahoma City Health Care System and the Salt Lake City Health Care System have active medical school affiliations. VISN 19 serves an area covering the states of Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma and portions of Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada and North Dakota.

  Previously, from 2011-2014, Mrs. Kumar-Giebel worked at VA Central office in Washington D.C. as a Health Systems Specialist in the VHA Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management (DUSHOM). In this role she and her team served as primary liaison between headquarters and 7 VISNS managing routine & operational issues affecting healthcare delivery, resources, and internal/external stakeholder relations. She also managed the VACO practicum for the Graduate Health Care Administrative Training Program (GHATP) Residents/Fellows, Health Systems Management Trainees, and Presidential Management Fellows. Mrs. Kumar-Giebel was selected to assist standing up VHA’s office of Community Engagement in conjunction with the Secretary’s Public and Private Partnership Workgroup. She served as Acting EA to the DUSHOM in December 2013.

  Prior to working in VACO, Mrs. Kumar-Giebel was the Health Systems Specialist to the Medical Center Director, West Palm Beach in VISN 8 from 2009 to 2011, where she was responsible for various programs and special projects on behalf of the leadership team. From 2007 to 2009, Mrs. Kumar-Giebel served as the Administrative Officer and Clinic Manager for Primary Care and all Specialty Care Outpatient Clinics at the New York Harbor Health Care System. Mrs. Kumar-Giebel began her career with the VA as a GHATP Fellow at the Northport VAMC in Long Island, NY.

  Mrs. Kumar-Giebel is a graduate of VISN level leadership programs and an active member in the American College of Healthcare Executives. She is also a member of the ACHE Regent Advisory Council. She serves in various roles for the Western State Network Consortium, National Leadership Board, HR Modernization, and VISN Executive Leadership Council.

  Mrs. Kumar-Giebel grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Corporate Financial Management from Case Western Reserve University in conjunction with the University of Akron. She received her Master’s in Health Administration from the University of Pittsburgh in 2006. Mrs. Kumar-Giebel lives in Denver with her husband and son where they enjoy outdoor activities, sports, traveling and spending time with loved ones.

  Network Director

  

• Brandy R. Bartron, MHRM

  Brandy R. Bartron, MHRM

  Acting Deputy Network Director

  Effective April 7, 2024, Brandy Bartron will assume the role of VISN 19 Acting Deputy Network Director. In her permanent role as the Chief Human Resources Officer, Ms. Bartron was responsible for oversight and management of the VISN 19 Human Resources Service. Ms. Bartron serves as the Executive Champion of Personnel and Security Management, National Human Resources voting member for Supervisor Ready Advisory Board and Co-Chair on several short-range projects for the Strategic Human Resources Advisory Committee (SHRAC).

  Ms. Bartron previously served as the Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer from 2018-2022 and prior to that as the Employee and Labor Relations Section Chief for VISN 19. Before relocating to Denver, CO, she held the roles of EEO, Privacy and FOIA Manager for VHA Member Services and HR Specialist (ER/LR) for the Veterans Crisis Line and VA Chief Business Office (CBO) under Workforce Management located in Topeka, KS. Ms. Bartron is a proud graduate of the Pathways/TCF Program where she gained invaluable knowledge and experience with the full cycle of HR actions.

  Prior to federal employment, Brandy served in various Kansas state agencies working with Social and Rehabilitation Services in the Department of Commerce and ending as a Field Investigation Agent for Taxation with the Department of Revenue. She also spent 7 years with Wal-Mart as a manager in Front-End and Specialty Divisions, and ultimately as a Regional Operations Manager with a territory including seven stores.

  Brandy earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration & Organizational Management from Friends University in Wichita, KS, and a Master of Arts in Human Resources with an emphasis in Organizational Development from Ottawa University. Brandy also attended Washburn University in the field of study for Family and Human Services.

  In her downtime Brandy enjoys spending time with her husband Robert, son Carter James and daughter Brooklyn. She and her family are big Kansas City Chief fans and enjoy spending time back home visiting what she calls the “Best BBQ Restaurants in the Country” on both the Kansas and Missouri sides of Kansas City.

  Acting Deputy Network Director

  

• Dr. Susan Bray-Hall

  Dr. Susan Bray-Hall

  Chief Medical Officer

  

  Dr. Bray-Hall joins the VISN 19 Executive Leadership Team from her permanent role as Chief of Staff at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System, where she has been serving since February 2017. Prior to joining the Oklahoma City VAHCS, she served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, and Associate Director of the Eastern Colorado Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center.

  Dr. Bray-Hall started her VA career in 2003 in Home Based Primary Care, advancing to administrative roles in Geriatrics and Extended Care, prior to moving to Oklahoma City.

  Susan graduated Magna Cum Laude from University of Washington in Chemistry and Biochemistry, and then moved to Colorado for Medical School. She was an AOA graduate from University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1999 and followed with a residency in Internal Medicine and Geriatric Fellowship at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

  Chief Medical Officer

  

• Ms. Jeanne Aikin

  Ms. Jeanne Aikin

  Interim Chief Nursing Officer

  Ms. Jeanne Aikin, MSN, RN, has been selected as Interim Chief Nursing Officer for VISN 19, effective 3/24/2024.

  Ms. Aikin joined the VA in August 2019 as the Service Chief of the Sterile Processing Service at VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System (ECHCS). She was then promoted to the Chief Nurse of Inpatient Nursing Services. In her roles at ECHCS, Ms. Aikin developed a recruitment program for sterile processing, a float pool that aligns under inpatient nursing, a Step-Down Unit within the ICU, and has aligned nursing leadership to a LEAN model for efficient bed management and patient flow. Ms. Aikin worked collaboratively during the COVID-19 pandemic to create a nursing and facility surge plan.

  Ms. Aikin joined the VISN 19 Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) Office in December 2022, as the Deputy Chief Nursing Officer. Since arriving at VISN, she has been an integral leadership team member supporting the CNO Office in its program administration and aligning with VISN 19 strategic goals and priorities. Ms. Aikin has led the implementation of a VISN-wide Bed Management System (BMS) Workgroup to improve data and reporting, advocated for training and education of staffing methodology across VISN 19, developed the VISN Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) Service line structure, supported process improvement of Tele-Emergency Care (EC) in the Clinical Contact Center (CCC) and delivered exemplary leadership driven by her passion for the nursing profession.

  Ms. Aikin brings a depth of leadership experience as a former Chief Nursing Officer and Hospital Administrator at UC Health, where she was part of a team that opened a new hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In this role, Ms. Aikin developed models of care, nursing competencies, policies, and program and service line development. Additionally, she has held Clinical Nurse Leadership roles in critical care, med surg, and float pool for Centura Health within the Colorado market, and she has mastered extensive skills in inpatient operations. Ms. Aikin has been a nurse since 2002, holds a master’s degree in nursing with a focus on organizational leadership, and a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

  Interim Chief Nursing Officer

  

• Ruth Hammond

  Ruth Hammond

  Quality Management Officer

  Ruth Hammond, RN, was appointed as the VISN 19 Quality Management Officer (QMO) In July 2020. She is responsible for the direction, planning, and oversight of multiple quality programs from the VISN level and of eight Health Care Systems, and 123 additional sites of care.

  Ms. Hammond joined VISN 19 in July 2013 and served as the VISN Accreditation Specialist and UM Program Manager until 2017 when she transferred to the position of the VISN 19 Risk Manager. Ms. Hammond has a rich Nursing and Quality background within the VA including serving as a Regional Director with the Office of Clinical Consultation and Compliance, and as a Nurse Manager and Associate Chief Nurse at the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center. Prior to joining the VA Ms. Hammond spent 20 years in the private sector functioning in multiple nursing roles.

  Ms. Hammond received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 1980 from Loretto Heights College in Denver, Colorado, her Master of Science in Business Administration in 1998 from Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana, and her Master of Science in Healthcare Administration in 1999 from Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

  Quality Management Officer