Lebanon VA Medical Center director retiring at the end of March

The Lebanon VA Medical Center announced Monday that its director and CEO is retiring at the end of March.

Robert W. Callahan Jr. was appointed as director of the center in November 2007. He has more than 34 years of federal service in the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of the Army, officials said in a press release Monday morning.

“Serving Veterans alongside the dedicated professionals at the Lebanon VA and our community clinics has been among the greatest honors of my life," he said. "I delayed planned retirement last year, and I look forward to more time with family and pursuing other interests."

A national search has already been initiated to select the center's next director. Margaret Wilson, Associate Director for Patient Care Services/Nurse Executive will be the acting director, according to the release.

Lebanon VA Medical Center is one of 170 medical centers in the nation with the sole purpose of providing world-class medical care to America’s veterans. Lebanon VAMC serves a nine-county area in southcentral Pennsylvania covering Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, Schuylkill and York counties.

The son of a U.S. Coast Guard Veteran, Callahan began his VA career in 1993 as an Occupational Safety & Health Manager at Lebanon VA Medical Center. Prior to transferring to the VA, Callahan worked for the Department of the Army Preventive Medicine Department at Aberdeen Proving Grounds Maryland, and E.I Dupont as a laboratory researcher.

Officials said Callahan spent most of his tenure modernizing the 75-year-old facility and its five VA Community Clinics, doubling the staffing size to meet the needs of veterans, and expanding care for more than 46,000 veterans. Callahan also helped navigate the health system through the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The medical center and our community clinics are well-positioned to continue our long legacy of caring for veterans," he said.

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If you are a veteran, you may be eligible to receive care and benefits from the U.S. Department ofVeterans Affairs. To learn more, call (717) 272-6621, ext. 6000. For more information about the medical center, visit https://www.va.gov/lebanon-health-care/.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth.