COLD SPRING, Ky. – The DAV (Disabled American Veterans) National Commander’s Award for Outstanding Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration Employee of the Year has been awarded to Dr. Murray Altose, of Cleveland.

Altose, chief of staff at the Cleveland VA Medical Center, has devoted his life to veterans. For nearly 30 years, he has served them in virtually every capacity possible for a physician. That includes work in academic medicine, leadership in administration, education, research and clinical practice. Altose’s continuing commitment to research has strengthened institutional ties and resulted in more than $100 million of VA-funded research over the past decade, directly impacting biomedical advancements.

His systemic implementation of 131 Patient Aligned Care Teams at 14 locations was nationally recognized and has provided a seamless patient experience for more than 112,000 veterans. Altose also developed the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Program to include care for combat-injured veterans with polytrauma and traumatic brain injury. He established the 16-bed, inpatient Blind Rehabilitation Center, a 28,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that serves veterans throughout the region, and instituted the 30-bed Long-Term Spinal Cord Injury Care Unit, dedicated to veterans with long-term non-acute medical care.

The Cleveland VAMC also currently houses 10 Clinical Centers of Excellence, which is more than any other VA medical center in the country. Altose has led the medical center to exceed the Veterans Health Administration’s inpatient satisfaction goal and has led them to be one of only two VHA facilities to maintain a five-star quality rating for the past five years.

“Not only is Dr. Altose committed to ensuring the best quality care for our nation’s heroes, he is renowned for his mentorship to physicians, nurses and medical professionals,” said DAV National Commander Moses A. McIntosh Jr. “He holds those he works with to the highest standards of safe and ethical care. Through Dr. Altose’s leadership, this legacy will extend even further than the three decades he has already personally dedicated to the men and women who served.”

The award will be formally presented Aug. 1 at the DAV and DAV Auxiliary’s 95th National Convention at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Atlanta. For interested media, photos will be available upon request.