VA chief leaving post on Friday
BUTLER TWP — Jon Lasell Jr. doesn't relish the idea of leaving his position as director of VA Butler Health Care System after just eight months, but he must put family first.
Lasell's last day at the VA will be Friday. He started his job in October.
Lasell, a 25-year Army veteran who was injured in the line of duty and receives services through the VA health care system, explained that his brother was slated to leave his home in Alaska to travel to Texas to care for their 90-year-old father.
Unfortunately, his brother suffered a fatal heart attack, leaving the World War II veteran alone, in failing health and unable to travel.
“He's just not thriving,” Lasell said. “I've got to go down there and be with him.”
He said leaving is difficult because he has come to love the Butler community as well as the staff and veterans at the health care system.
Lasell said he was amazed at the turnout at the Veterans Day and Memorial Day parades in downtown Butler, and the general support residents offer veterans.
“It was so impressive to see the community rally behind the veterans here in the Butler area,” he said.
He will also miss the VA staff that welcomed him so warmly in the fall by greeting him with a smile, asking how he's doing, and offering help with any task.
“The staff are just amazing,” Lasell said. “I tell people all the time that Butler is Disneyland.”
He said he also appreciates congressmen Mike Kelly and Conor Lamb, who have faithfully supported the health system and its veterans.
“It's very sad to leave this great organization and the great people and the great community,” Lasell said. “There have been many tears this week already, and it's only Tuesday.”
Lasell has accepted an offer to create a behavioral health program in San Antonio for veterans known as a “military heroes unit.” The unit will provide services aimed at preventing suicide among veterans.
VA Butler Health Care spokesman Ken Kalberer said Tuesday that smaller systems like the local VA will likely have a more frequent director turnover, as its size makes it a sort of training ground for those who will eventually move on to a larger health care system.
The last director, David Cord, worked in the VA Butler Health Care System from November 2015 to January 2018, according to Kalberer.
Lasell previously served as director of business operations and chief of staff at the U.S. Army Medical Command Health Care Contracting Activity in San Antonio.
He has also served as chief operating officer at the Winn Army Community Hospital in Hinesville, Ga., and as deputy chief of staff for the Regional Health Command-Central in San Antonio.
Lasell said while he will be sad to leave, he will be glad to get to Texas to care for his father.
“I just have to do this,” he said.
