Dr. Jeffrey Oken started his VA career in 2018 as a Physiatrist and Deputy Chief of Staff at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital after working in the private sector for 27 years. He has overseen the Office of Community Care, including transitions and expansions after the Mission Act. He is the Mission Act Executive Sponsor, ensuring that all aspects of Mission Act and corresponding community partnerships are appropriately executed. Dr. Oken similarly holds the position of Executive Sponsor to the Referral Coordination Initiative, which oversees the consult process, ensuring that Veterans are offered all available choices when considering their care options, whether face-to-face, via VA Video Connect, over the telephone, or through a community partner. Through this initiative, Dr. Oken and partners strive to embody the VA Mission and provide the best care possible for our Nation’s Heroes. He is also Executive sponsor for the EHRM/Cerner initiative. He received his Doctor of Medicine through University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago, and completed his internship in Internal medicine at Northwestern University and residency at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. He is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine with subspecialty certification in Pain medicine as well as Spinal Cord medicine. He has held Executive leadership positions at Northwestern Medicine/Marianjoy and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare.