Chad Kessler, MD, Deputy Durham VAMC Chief of Staff, recently received the national role of VA’s Acting Director of Emergency Medicine.
As director, Kessler will oversee the 119 emergency departments in VA medical centers across the United States while continuing in his Durham post. Kessler got his start in emergency care through a program sponsored by the VA at the Jesse Brown VAMC in Chicago allowing him to do a combined residency in emergency and internal medicine.
He moved his family to Durham in 2012 in search of new challenges. Like Chicago, Durham’s emergency department has doctors and nurses specially trained in emergency medicine, enabling Durham’s emergency unit to treat 32,000 patients a year, even though it doesn’t offer specialty care like trauma care or pediatrics.
“The idea that, across the country, we see over 2.4 million visits in VHA Emergency Departments annually is both intimidating and exhilarating!” says Kessler. “We have a truly unique opportunity to innovate and build a world-class, integrated Emergency Medicine system at over 140 hospitals nationwide.”
Congratulations Dr. Kessler!