In late May, Eric Meittunen joined the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) as Deputy Commissioner - Veterans Healthcare.

Meittunen will lead MDVA’s Healthcare Division with responsibility for five current and three new Veterans Homes, Adult Day Center and Veteran Suicide Prevention initiative. He will partner with the Healthcare Division Senior Leadership Team to engage our stakeholders, establish strategic plans, and execute operational excellence objectives that achieve the highest quality, safest care for our Residents.

“As I meet the leaders and staff at the Minnesota Veterans Homes, I am impressed by their passion for caring for our Veterans. That is a theme here: we are honored to serve those who served, “ Meittunen said.

Meittunen was drawn to his new role as Deputy Commissioner at MDVA. He comes from a military service-oriented family and joined the Minnesota Army National Guard in Duluth at the age of 17 as a Special Electronic Device Technician (35E). He graduated from the Minnesota State Officer Candidate School and returned to his unit for deployment to Gulf War for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

“I can now bookend my career by again serving the military community – our Veterans – while also leveraging my experience working in the healthcare field throughout my career,” he said.

After the conflict, Meittunen completed a bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management from Minnesota State Mankato, Master’s degree in Risk Control Management/Safety from University of Wisconsin Stout and later completed an Executive MBA degree from University of Minnesota.

Meittunen started his healthcare career as an Intern at Mayo Clinic where his master’s thesis, Nursing Ergonomics, was selected as the top Continuous Improvement Project for the organization; this work would later influence the VA Safety Center’s Safe Patient Handling Program. Meittunen’s healthcare leadership experience includes roles as Hospital Safety Officer, Specialty Service line Clinical Quality, Heart Center clinical operations, Accountable Care, Health System Performance Excellence, and as consultant to the United Kingdom’s National Health System. Most recently, Meittunen provided Health System Transformation Leadership to Hennepin Healthcare (HCMC) and Hennepin County where he led work in the areas of Payer/Provider Partnership Innovations, Social Determinants of Health, Health Equity, Analytics and Population Health Strategy operational execution.

“Eric brings deep healthcare experience to MDVA,” said Interim Commissioner Brad Lindsay. “We look forward to his contributions during a period a significant growth in our healthcare division. Eric will lead our commitment to a smooth transition as we open and welcome hundreds of new staff and Veteran Residents to our three new State Veterans Homes.”