Leadership Team
Gerald F Culliton | 203-937-3888
Medical Center Director
Mr. Gerald Culliton, MPA, FACHE is Director, VA Connecticut Healthcare System which includes the Newington and West Haven campuses as well as a number of community outpatient clinics throughout the state. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and a graduate of the Federal Healthcare Executive Institute, VA Health Care Leadership Institute (HCLI) and Leadership VA (LVA).
John Callahan | 203-937-3888
Associate Director
John J. Callahan was appointed Associate Director in January 2012. He is a native of Rhode Island and received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island in 1980. Mr. Callahan has over 30 years of experience with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to his appointment as Associate Director, Mr. Callahan was Chief of Health Administration Service at the VA Medical Center Philadelphia, Penn. He began his VA career as a staff pharmacist in 1980 and since that time has served in increasingly complex leadership roles including Assistant Chief of Pharmacy, Project Coordinator/Facility Planner and Executive Assistant to the director. He is a graduate of the Network Healthcare Leadership Institute (NEHCLI) and a graduate of VA’s Executive Career Field Training Program (ECF) and Healthcare Leadership Institute. He is nationally certified as a Fellow Mentor. Mr. Callahan served as Acting Associate Director at VA Medical Center Fargo, North Dakota and from May to October 2010, he served a six-month detail as acting Associate Director at VAMC Philadelphia.
Linda Accordino | 203-937-3888
Associate Director for Patient Care Services
Linda Accordino, APRN, was appointed Associate Director for Patient Care Services on Oct. 2, 2016. She previously served as the VA Connecticut Care Line Manager for Geriatrics and Extended Care since 2006.
Ms. Accordino received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Dominican College and her master’s degree from the Yale University School of Nursing. Ms. Accordino is also a graduate of the adult nurse practitioner certificate program from Yale University.
Other assignments have included serving as the Director of the VA Connecticut Home Based Primary Care. Ms. Accordino is a gerontological nurse practitioner. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the State Society on Aging and the Gerontological Society of America.
Michael Ebert, MD | 203-937-3825
Chief of Staff
Michael H. Ebert, M.D. was appointed as Chief of Staff in September 2002. He also is the Associate Dean for Veterans Affairs and a Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Ebert graduated from Williams College in 1962 and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1966. He was trained in psychiatry at two of the Harvard Medical School residency programs (Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Massachusetts General Hospital). Dr. Ebert's scientific training was primarily pursued at the National Institutes of Health. He has conducted research in psychiatry, neurology and neuropharmacology. Dr. Ebert was a Director of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and also served on the Residency Review Committee for Psychiatry of the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
Prior to his appointment at VA Connecticut, Dr. Ebert served as Chair of the Psychiatry Department at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn. from 1984 to 2002. Previously, Dr. Ebert was the Clinical Director of the NIMH Intramural Research Program from 1980 to 1984, and also was the Acting Director of the Clinical Center (the hospital of the NIH), and the Associate Director of the NIH for Clinical Care in 1983.
Dr. Ebert's military service began during his tenure at the National Institutes of Health, where he was on active duty in the United States Public Health Service (USPHS). Subsequently he served in the inactive reserves of the USPHS, and then in the active reserves of the United States Navy. Dr Ebert retired from the United States Navy in 2000 at the rank of Captain.
Ross Hildonen | 203-937-3888
Assistant Director
Ross A. Hildonen, MPA, FACHE was appointed Assistant Director in December 2016. He previously served as the Executive Assistant to the Director, and from December 2015 to August 2016, he served a nine-month detail as the Acting Assistant Director of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System.
Mr. Hildonen holds a master’s degree in Public Administration and bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Westfield State University. He is a graduate of the VHA Health Care Leadership Development Program (HCLDP), University of Maryland University College’s (UMUC) National Leadership Institute, VA New England Transformational Leadership Program, and the Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) Program. He is a certified Federal Program/Project Manager, certified Lean/Six Sigma Green Belt, and a certified Veterans Health Administration Coach/Mentor.
Mr. Hildonen is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a Board Member of the Federal Executive Association of Connecticut and a member of the Connecticut Association of Healthcare Executives.
