Deborah Amdur Bio
Chief Consultant
Care Management and Social Work Service
Patient Care Services
Department of Veterans Affairs
Ms. Deborah Amdur, LCSW, Chief Consultant, Care Management and Social Work Service has overall responsibility for five national programs including: VA’s Social Work Program, the Caregiver Support Program, the Family Hospitality Program, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Care Management Program and the VA Liaison Program.
As Chief Consultant, Care Management and Social Work, Ms. Amdur leads the VACO office that provides policy guidance and program oversight to the field and champions an active succession planning program for the development of current and future Social Work leaders. VA is the largest employer of Masters Prepared Social Workers, with over 9000 Masters prepared Social Workers on staff, serving in all VA Medical Centers and all program areas.
Ms. Amdur is taking the lead, in collaboration with other offices in VA, to implement a groundbreaking program that provides new benefits and expanded services for eligible caregivers of seriously injured Post 9/11 Veterans along with developing a system-wide approach to supporting caregivers of Veterans from all eras.
Ms. Amdur provides oversight and champions the development and implementation of VA key programs to serve the returning wounded, ill and injured from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ms. Amdur and her office work in collaboration with their colleagues at the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, TRICARE and a myriad of other federal, state, public, and private enterprises to optimize and ensure Veteran centric care to Service members, Veterans and their families. Ms. Amdur also provides leadership for the Family Hospitality Program which includes the Fisher Houses at VA facilities around the country. The Fisher Houses are an invaluable resource for VA, providing lodging and support in a home-like setting to the families of Servicemembers and Veterans.
Ms. Amdur is a seasoned Social Work Leader, has many years of experience and has held multiple leadership positions. She started her career as a Social Work Intern at the St. Louis VA Medial Center and worked as a Clinical Social Worker in a number of settings. She has been the Chief of Social Work at both the Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System and the Washington DC VA Medical Center as well as the Director of Home Based Primary Care at the Durham VA. She has also held a number of positions in VA health care operations including serving as the Executive Assistant to the Director at the Washington DC VAMC and then became Assistant Director at the facility. In VA Central Office, Ms. Amdur served as Special Assistant to Secretary Nicholson and then worked as a Health Systems Specialist in Network Support. Before assuming her current role as Chief Consultant, Care Management and Social Work Service, Ms. Amdur was the Deputy Director for Health for the Federal Recovery Program.
Ms. Amdur received her Bachelor’s Degree from Cornell University and her Master’s in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis.