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Gerard R. Cox, MD, MHA retired from Federal service in December 2024 after nearly 11
years as a senior executive in the Veterans Health Administration. VHA is the largest
integrated health system in the U.S. with 9 million enrolled Veterans served by more
than 400,00 employees at 170 inpatient medical centers and 1,200 outpatient clinics.
As Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Quality and Patient Safety from 2020
through 2024, Dr. Cox led VHA’s national health care quality improvement, patient
safety, data analytics, and performance measurement programs and was the executive
sponsor of an ambitious strategy to reduce harm and achieve high reliability across the
vast Veterans’ health system. He is widely credited with driving a major transformation
in organizational culture to build trust and psychological safety and improve quality, as
evidenced by annual employee survey responses, increased patient safety event
reporting, patient satisfaction results on industry-standard surveys, and VA medical
center ratings for overall quality of care compared with private-sector hospitals.
In previous roles as a member of VHA’s executive leadership team, Dr. Cox served as
Executive Director of the Office of the Medical Inspector, Assistant Deputy Under
Secretary for Health for Integrity, and Deputy Under Secretary for Health for
Organizational Excellence, helping to restore public trust in VA by impartially
investigating allegations of wrongdoing, fostering an ethical culture, enhancing
oversight, and strengthening accountability.
During his previous military career of more than 30 years as a U.S. Navy medical officer,
Dr. Cox served in a series of hospital leadership roles including service chief, service
line leader, chief operating officer, and chief executive officer. He held executive
positions on the staffs of the Navy Surgeon General, the Commandant of the Marine
Corps, the Commander of U.S. Navy forces in the Middle East, and the Naval Inspector
General. He also served as a White House physician for Presidents William J. Clinton
and George W. Bush.
Dr. Cox graduated with honors from Dartmouth College in 1979, earned his medical
degree from the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine in 1983, and was
awarded a Master of Health Administration at the Tulane University School of Public
Health and Tropical Medicine in 1997. He completed a medical internship at the
National Naval Medical Center and the combined residency program in emergency
medicine at Georgetown University, George Washington University, and the University
of Maryland. He is board-certified in emergency medicine, occupational medicine, and
health care administration and is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency
Physicians, the American College of Preventive Medicine, and the American College of
Healthcare Executives.
Dr. Cox received the 2024 Presidential Rank Award recognizing him as a Distinguished
Executive, a status conferred upon the top 1% of Federal executives. Upon his
retirement he also earned the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Distinguished Career
Award and the Under Secretary for Health’s Exemplary Service Award. His personal
military decorations include the Legion of Merit (3 awards), the Defense Meritorious
Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (5 awards), the Navy and Marine Corps
Commendation Medal (3 awards), and the Presidential Service Badge. He is a member
of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and the Delta Omega Public Health
Honor Society.
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