Leadership Team

Vivian T Hutson | 614-257-5450
Director
Ms. Vivian Hutson was appointed as Director of the VA Central Ohio Healthcare System on October 28, 2018. Formerly she was the CEO and Medical Center Director for the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, a tertiary care teaching hospital serving Veterans in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. In 2016, she retired from the U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps at the rank of Colonel, after 30 years of highly decorated service at numerous locations around the country and overseas. During that time, she was CEO and commander of two military treatment facilities, served as the senior U.S. Army medical leader in Japan, and worked in the Office of the Army Surgeon General as a senior policy analyst and later as Director for Strategic Outreach and Communications. She also completed fellowships with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Dietetic Association, and an administrative residency at PacifiCare of Texas. She has received a MHA from Baylor University, a dual MA in Management and Human Resources Development from Webster University, and a BS in Nutrition from Cornell University. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has actively served on several national ACHE committees.

Jamie Kuhne, LISW-S | 614-257-5454
Associate Director
Ms. Kuhne was appointed as Associate Director of the VA Central Ohio Healthcare System on August 20, 2017 Ms. Kuhne began her VA career in 2005 as a medical social worker and served as the chief of the Columbus VA ACC Geriatrics and Extended Care Line beginning in 2009. In that capacity, she oversaw nine different programs, including: Home Based Primary Care, Palliative Care and the Geriatrics Patient Aligned Care Team. Ms. Kuhne has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Iowa. She was a 2015-16 Aging Health Policy Fellow with a placement at Congressional Research Service. Ms. Kuhne is married with two children.

Susan Williams | 614-257-5560
Associate Director for Patient Care Services
Ms. Susan Williams was appointed to the position of Associate Director for Patient Care Services (ADPCS) on March 18, 2018. Ms. Williams’s most recent role was Associate Chief Nurse for Specialty and Surgery Services. In this capacity, she led an organization of up to 175 nurses and associated health personnel. She maintained oversight responsibility for the implementation of the primary nursing model of care on each unit and collaborated with Mental Health leadership to implement the Behavioral Health Integrated Program (BHIP) teams at the facility. She was integral to the restructuring of the Urgent Care Clinic to improve the customer and staff experience. Ms. Williams holds a BSN from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio and received her MSN from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Ms. Williams is a graduate of the VA Leadership Development Program in 2009 and the VA Healthcare Leadership Development Program in 2015.

Marc Cooperman, M.D. | 614-257-5465
Chief of Staff
Dr. Cooperman received his bachelor's degree at Yale University in 1969, and moved on to Stanford University where he graduated as an M.D. in 1973. He completed his general surgery residency at The Ohio State University (OSU), and then transitioned into full-time faculty in the OSU School of Medicine. Dr. Cooperman has authored and/or co-authored over 60 publications in the field of general surgery, and maintained a general surgery private practice for 17 years. Still heavily involved in teaching while running his private practice, Dr. Cooperman helped develop a Level I Trauma Center at St. Anthony Medical Center. He arrived at the Columbus VA ACC in 2002 as a staff physician and was named Chief of Specialty and Acute Care at the Columbus VA ACC in 2008. Dr. Cooperman was born in Washington D.C. and is married with four children.