DeFrancesco, a Pittsburgh, Pa., native, began her career as a biomedical engineer at the Indianapolis VA Medical Center in 2010.
In Dayton, she will supervise 11 administrative departments leaders, such as the chiefs of engineering, fiscal services, human resources, pharmacy, prosthetics, and the campus police force, and a workforce of about 800 employees.
Along with a community-based holistic approach to care, she said she has targeted training and educating the workforce as key priorities.
RELATED: New Dayton VA director wants to be transparent for veterans
Watching her grandfather, a World War II veteran, receive care at the VA motivated her to join the sprawling health organization, she said.
“I often tell people I’ve kind of grown up VA,” she said. “The VA was always someplace that I wanted to work.”
Eventually like to run a hospital, she said.
Prior to her new post, she was the chief biomedical engineer for the Veterans Integrated Service Network 10 covering Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. She also was chief of biomedical engineering at Richmond VA Medical Center in Virginia.
RELATED: Ohio’s Hospice hires top leader leaving Dayton VA Medical Center
The Dayton VA named Jill Dietrich director in March. Dietrich, 37, who was the associate director of the Long Beach VA Medical Center, is the first woman to lead the Dayton VA in its 150-year history.
Mark Murdock, former associate director, was named the new leader at the Chillicothe VA Medical Center.
The Dayton VA, which has about a $435 million budget and 2,300 employees, serves 40,000 veterans a year through its main campus and four community clinics in Lima, Springfield and Middletown and Richmond, Ind.
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