Joseph Cafferty

Joe Cafferty (he/him/his), MSW, LISW, serves the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System (VAAAHS) as the section chief for planning and analysis in the Director's Office. Within VAAAHS, Cafferty is responsible for the strategic direction of the healthcare system and is aligned with the Veterans Affairs priorities for delivering high-quality healthcare services to its consumers. Cafferty also provides expert advice and guidance on both operational and strategic issues involving a complex and ever-changing local, state and national healthcare environment. His contributions to VAAAHS during the COVID-19 pandemic included acting as the emergency manager and COVID-19 vaccine coordinator; overseeing the distribution of vaccines to veterans, their families, staff and federal partners. He began his career working in community mental health as a child and family therapist in Toledo and eventually working as a clinical social worker in the outpatient mental health clinic at the Toledo Community Based Outpatient Clinic (VAAAHS). Cafferty has presented regionally and nationally on the topics of building clinical competence with the military and veteran populations. He also served in the Ohio Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.