VA Director JangDhari moving on to new post
Kalautie Jangdhari came to Big Spring three and a half years ago, and it was only supposed to be for six months. Unfortunately, her time here at the West Texas VA Health Care System has come to close, and she's moving to Miami.
“I believe the biggest accomplishment while I was here, and not by me but by the entire organization, has been team-building to really focus on delivering quality services for our patients,” says Jangdhari. “This is a place where I came in as an 'acting', and I was only supposed to be here for two months. That turned into over three years. That tells you about the community, the relationships, the value of our organization, and, most importantly, the value of people, both employees and patients.”
“I have mixed emotions on leaving Big Spring,” continues Jangdhari. “I know they will get good people coming in. The VA is ripe with wonderful people who have great potential. It's melancholy.”
“The Acting Interim Director will be Jason Cave. He was most recently the Acting Associate Director, and he was chosen because of his knowledge of the VA and this community and the
way he was able to help us move forward with his experience and personality. We are really looking forward to and honored that he's coming back in that capacity while they do the search. James Douglas will be Interim Associate Director. Both start on July 1 for up to 120 days.”
“I see so many good things on the horizon. It takes at least three years to really move an organization forward, so hopefully some of the things we've started and initiated over the last three years will be realized over the next three years. We have brought back in specialty care services and expanded the way we do primary healthcare services. We had a high turnover of staff, and I can say that we've been able to not only expand the number of staff, but also retain that staff.”
“With the Mission Act, not only will we now be able to provide that quality primary and mental health care, but we're able to work with our partners in the community for when the patient wants to go somewhere other than the VA. Sometimes it is much more convenient for our patients to visit doctors in their area. We are in a highly rural area, and this will save some travel and offer an opportunity to partner more with our community because they will become affiliates, of a sort, and we'll be able to manage the comprehensive care for the patients. They will still be based with the VA, and that's what we want to do is provide for their whole-health and offer those services that we're not able to provide by using our community partners.”
“I want to thank the community. They have been the biggest supporters of this VA. During some of the toughest and most challenging times, they've lifted the VA up and supported the VA. The stakeholders have been actively engaged in providing input so that we can help make a difference. I hope they realize we've heard what they've said, and we've tried to change accordingly for the betterment of the veterans.”
“Finally, I'd like to thank the staff. Leadership can come and go, but with a good plan made by the people who are doing the work, anyone can come in and lead a great organization. I was able to do that because of the staff we have. It's because of the good people that are here for the right reasons and doing the right things.”