ADA News
VA appoints Dr. Arola to top dental care position
Washington—Dr. Patricia E. Arola, who entered the Department of Veterans Affairs as a staff dentist in Fargo, N.D., was named Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Dentistry effective June 20, 2010. She is responsible for policy, oversight and program development for dental care delivered by 833 dentists at 206 VA medical centers and clinics.
The VA in 2009 provided dental care to some 410,000 veterans. VA Dentistry is committed to delivering high quality, evidence-based care to eligible veteran patients as part of a comprehensive, integrated health care system, Dr. Arola said.
She began her VA career 24 years ago, rising to leadership as Chief, Dental Service, Director of the Diagnostics and Therapeutics Service Line in Fargo, and Dental Director for the five-state Upper Midwest Healthcare Network.
Her experience in health care leadership at the VA medical center level includes program design, team facilitation, policy development, financial management and informatics/decision support. She designed curricula for clinical and didactic courses over a 12-year period as an oral radiology instructor.
Since 2005, Dr. Arola has served in the VA Central Office in the Office of Dentistry, starting as Director of Operations. Promoted to Deputy Director for Dentistry she led development of programmatic policies and plans for field operations, personnel matters, eligibility for services, clinic design, staffing models, sharing agreements and contracts.
She received her dental degree from the University of Minnesota in 1986 and returned to complete a Master of Healthcare Administration with a research focus on factors affecting patient satisfaction with dental care. She is a member of the American Dental Association and a fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Dr. Arola is the ADA representative to the ambulatory care professional and technical advisory committee of The Joint Commission. She is a Veterans Health Administration certified mentor and has served on the Robert W. Carey Performance Excellence Board of Examiners.
