Penn Medicine and Department of Veterans Affairs MOU Signing

June 27, 2023

Penn President Liz Magill joined with Dr. Shereef Elnahal, Under Secretary for Health, Veterans Affairs, Kevin Mahoney, CEO for Penn Medicine, Timothy W. Liezert, Network Director, VISN 4, and Karen Flahery-Oxler, Medical Center Director, Philadelphia VA, and others for an MOU signing ceremony.

Caring for veterans of our nation’s military is a sacred responsibility. Penn Medicine has a long and proud history — dating back to the Revolutionary War — of training military medical professionals and caring for those who serve our nation, and their families. Since 1948, Penn Medicine has provided services to veterans treated at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in University City. Last week brought an announcement of the next chapter in our commitment to those who served, signing two Memoranda of Understanding with the Department of Veterans Affairs to enhance care for veterans in the Philadelphia area. The plans—the first publicly announced under new authorities granted by federal legislation known as the PACT Act—aim to set a new national model for the power of collaboration between the VA and academic medical centers.

Together, we can set the standard for how our nation approaches military medicine and expand medical services and support programs for veterans. Although we cannot fully repay the debt of their service to protect our freedom, we can work together to ensure that veterans have the best medical care and support at every phase of their lives.

Photographs by Dan Burke.