Cincinnati VA introduces new director

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - The Cincinnati VA Medical Center has a new director, a Northern Kentucky native who has been on the job for a few weeks.

Zachary Sage, executive director of the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, grew up in Elsmere and attended Dixie Heights High School. He left in 2006 for college and had the opportunity to return home.

“I’m not a veteran,” Sage said. “I got into working for the VA when I was in graduate school at the University of Kentucky. I started very much on the front line and worked my way up in VA.”

Father’s service inspired career

Sage’s father, a Vietnam veteran, inspired him to public service.

“He’s always been kind of that litmus test for me,” Sage said. “It was like, is this something I would like my father to get? Or how could I make this better so veterans like my dad could get a better outcome or better service?”

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His father received care at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.

Sage said some veterans do not sign up for services because they are afraid they may take away services from another veteran who may need it more.

“But it’s really the opposite, because if we don’t know you need something, then no one’s getting any help,” Sage said. “We want veterans to apply for every benefit that they’ve earned.”

Sage has 18 years of service to veterans.

The VA serves a population from 18 to well over 100, veterans from all eras.

“They’re going to be getting care from an organization that loves them more than anybody else,” Sage said. “But it truly is so rewarding to just be back home. This is a community that raised me. I look back and all the veterans that were so influential and what made me who I am and my call to service.”

Starting June 6, all veterans’ medical records will be available instantly to the VA Medical Center.

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