Saginaw VA Medical Director Vows to Bay Vets to Stress Customer Service
Nurse Denise Dietzen Says She is Dedicated to Veterans' Care
April 8, 2010
By: Dave Rogers
Denise M. Dietzen, medical center director at the Aleda E. Lutz Veterans Medical Center in Saginaw.
Denise Dietzen started at the Saginaw Veterans Administration Hospital as a staff nurse in 1986.
Now, 24 years later, she is the new director of the Aleda E. Lutz Medical Center, Saginaw. She was appointed in December 2009 by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki.
Ms. Dietzen met with two dozen members of the Bay County Veterans Council this week and told how she plans to improve staff performance in the interest of better medical care and easier access to the center.
She says she is passionate about veterans' care and is committed to further improving customer care.
She responded to local veterans' concerns about the telephone system and about restrictions on serving hamburgs and hot dogs at picnics put on by volunteers. The hospital has strict dietary rules where patients are concerned, she said, but she will look into easing them for special events. Many of the local veterans volunteer regularly at the hospital.
Ms. Dietzen previously served as associate director for patient care services at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Battle Creek where she had been since 2004.
She has served several times for long periods as acting medical director at VA medical centers in Detroit and Battle Creek.
She worked in the private sector as a nursing instructor and critical care nurse for several years before returning to public service as a clinical nurse specialist in medicine and ambulatory care 15 years ago.
Ms. Dietzen earned a BA in Nursing Science at Michigan State University in 1986, a masters degree in Nursing in 1992, also at MSU, and was awarded Family Nurse Practitioner certification in 1999 from Grand Valley State University.
She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society. She also is a leadership mentor in the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) at the national level.
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