Director, VA Palo Alto Health Care System
VA Palo ALto Health Care System: The transformation of health care with a Veteran-centered focus
Elizabeth (Lisa) Joyce Freeman was appointed VAPAHCS Director on February 11, 2001. Ms. Freeman’s duties include overseeing one of the most complex health care systems in the country with an annual budget of over $915 million, more than 7,000 staff and volunteers and 808 operating beds. She also initiates and maintains a cooperative relationship with affiliated Stanford University School of Medicine, other local hospitals, neighboring VA Health Care Systems and the Sierra Pacific Network Office at Mare Island, California.
Freeman began her VA career in 1983 as a Resident Engineer at the VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Later include the following: Senior Resident Engineer, Shreveport, Louisiana; Project Manager, Southern Region, VA Central Office; Health Systems Specialist, Southern Region Field Support Office, VA Central Office; Health System Administrator Trainee, VA Palo Alto Health Care System; Chief Operating Officer, VA Sierra Pacific Network Office, San Francisco, California; Associate Director, VA Palo Alto Health Care System; and Director, VA Palo Alto Health Care System.
Dr. Freeman graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering in 1983 and received a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Louisiana Tech University in 1987. She is a licensed civil engineer in the State of Virginia. She is a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives and serves as a formal mentor to numerous VA emerging leaders. She is a member of the California Hospital Association’s Santa Clara County Section and served on the 2006 Board of Directors for the Hospital Council. In 2005, she received the VA Alumni Association’s Honorary Leadership Award. She received a Presidential Rank Award at the meritorious level in 2005 and at the distinguished level in 2009. In 2011, she was named one of the top 100 influential women in Silicon Valley.