WASHINGTON – Craig B. Luigart, a former naval aviator and Virginia resident, was recently selected to be the chief information officer (CIO) for the health care system of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
"Craig's experience in the government and private sectors with information technology will allow our health providers to continue providing world-class care to our veterans," said Dr. Jonathan Perlin, VA's under secretary for health.
Luigart will also serve as the Department’s deputy chief information officer for health, reporting to the Department’s CIO and Assistant Secretary for Information Technology, Robert McFarland.
Along with Luigart’s appointment, Dr. Robert M. Kolodner has been appointed as the chief health informatics officer (CHIO), a position which he held in an acting capacity. As CHIO, reporting to Luigart, he is responsible for defining VA’s health informatics strategy.
In his new post, Luigart, who has been with VA since July 2003, will be responsible for the information technology supporting VA's health care system, which this year will treat veterans in more than 600,000 hospitalizations and 55 million outpatient visits.
Before coming to VA, Luigart was the CIO for the Department of Education for four years, responsible for a $1 billion in hardware and a staff of more than 500. He has been honored as a top professional in information technology by the Federal CIO Council, Federal Computer Week and Microsoft. In 2004, the Chief Information Council presented him with their highest honor, the Azimuth Award.
He spent 20 years as a naval officer and aviator. He served as CIO of the Naval Air Systems Command and as commander of the Information Network Programs Office, where his team was instrumental in establishing the service’s first CIO office. He was awarded two Legions of Merit by the Secretary of the Navy for leadership in information technology.
Luigart medically retired as a commander in 1996 with a service-connected condition and entered the private sector as an executive developing mobile care solutions and electronic medical records technology.
He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville in Kentucky and a masters in management information systems from the NavalPostgraduateSchool in Monterey, Calif.
Kolodner has been involved in overseeing VA activities related to the establishment of comprehensive, computerized clinical records for military personnel and veterans.
He graduated from HarvardCollege and received his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine. He completed a clinical fellowship in medicine at Harvard University School of Medicine and a psychiatric residency at Washington University School of Medicine. He has medical specialty board certification in psychiatry.
He has received national recognition for his contributions to VA’s health information activities, including honors from Federal Computer Week and the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States.
