Poplar Bluff VA director accepts new position, replacement to be announced

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- John J. Pershing VA Medical Center leadership will change this month when the current director accepts a new position in Columbia, Missouri.

Dr. Patricia Hall will transfer to Harry S. Truman VA Medical Center to serve as medical center director.

Hall's last day will be Aug. 23, Angela Smith, public affairs officer, said.

Department of Veterans Affairs officials expect to announce an interim director before that date, who will serve until the position is filled.

Hall has served as the Poplar Bluff director since January 2016, managing the main facility and seven community-based outpatient care clinics in two states, Smith said.

"I am saddened to leave this community I love and have felt such a part of," Hall told her staff when making the announcement, according to a news release. "But I am also proud of what we have accomplished together. We have opened a new Women's Clinic, expanded services in Salem and Pocahontas, designed new Whole Health programs and welcomed facility modernization through several construction projects. I have made long-lasting friends in Poplar Bluff, and I will certainly be back to visit."

A retired U.S. Army colonel, Hall served as hospital commander at the Combat Support Hospital at Salerno in Afghanistan and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. She is a veteran of operations Enduring Freedom and Restore Hope, and a Bronze Star recipient.

"Dr. Hall and her husband, Brad, have become an integral part of our community," noted Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce president Steve Halter in a statement. "They have been very active in our civic groups and can always be counted on to assist with any good cause. They will be truly missed."