About Age-Friendly

Scotte R. Hartronft, MD, MBA, FACP, FACHE, CPE

Executive Director

Office of Geriatrics & Extended Care 

Dr. Hartronft assumed the role of Executive Director, Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care (GEC) effective August 18, 2019. As Executive Director, his responsibilities cover the care of Veterans with complex care needs of all ages. GEC programs range in health care settings to include, but not limited to, acute care, home care, extended care, purchased home, hospice and palliative care, community, and facility-based community care. VA GEC programs  accounted for over $10 billion in expenditures for FY20. Prior to August 2019, Dr. Hartronft served in senior VA field positions at three different complexity 1a VA Medical Centers since 2006 including Chief of Staff at VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, Deputy Chief of Staff VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and Associate Chief of Staff at South Texas Health Care System in San Antonio.

Ines Valencia-Mendoza, MPH

Age-Friendly Program Analyst

Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care

Ines is a Program Analyst for Age-Friendly Health Systems with the VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care. With a background in administration and clinical operations, she previously served as the business manager for Rehab & Extended Care at the VA Hudson Valley Health Care System. An Army Veteran, Ines completed a year-long deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.

Kayla Lalande, MSW, CISW

Age-Friendly Program Analyst

 Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care

Kayla is a Program Analyst for Age-Friendly Health Systems with the VA Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care. With 10 years of social work experience in geriatrics and end-of-life care at the William S. Middleton VA Hospital in Madison, WI, she has also worked in Systems Redesign, Caregiver Support, Oncology, and inpatient social work. Kayla helped develop the national Goals of Care Conversations Train-the-Trainer program with the National Center on Ethics in Health Care.

Shivani K. Jindal, MD, MPH

Clinical Consultant for Home Care, Community Based and Purchased Care

Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care

VA Age-Friendly Health Systems Steering Committee, Incoming Chair

Dr. Jindal, a Geriatric Medicine physician at Cincinnati VA Medical Center, serves as Transition of Care Director and Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She also consults for VA National Office of Geriatrics & Extended Care, focusing on Home and Community Based Programs. With a residency in internal medicine from University of Cincinnati, she pursued Geriatric Medicine fellowship at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and advanced fellowship at VA Boston Healthcare System. Her work spans hospitalist and educator roles across Veterans Health Administration, emphasizing quality care for older adults, care innovations, and humanism in medicine. She focuses on Age-Friendly Health Systems Initiative implementation within VA system and various clinical settings.

Andrea Schwartz, MD, MPH

VA Age-Friendly Health Systems Steering Committee, Immediate Past Chair, Associate Director for Clinical Innovation, New England Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center

VA Boston Healthcare System

Andrea Wershof Schwartz, MD MPH AGSF is Associate Director for Clinical Innovation at the New England Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center and a geriatrician at VA Boston Healthcare System. She is also Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, co-directing the Aging and End of Life Theme for medical students, and serving as Associate Program Director for the Harvard Multicampus Fellowship. Additionally, she is Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and faculty in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Age-Friendly Health System Initiative. Dr. Schwartz received the American Geriatrics Society’s Outstanding Junior Clinical Award and mentors trainees in Geriatrics and medical education.

Kristen Sorocco, PhD

VA Age-Friendly Health Systems Steering Committee, Past Chair, Psychology Training Director and Assistant Chief

VA Oklahoma City Healthcare System

The John A. Hartford Foundation invests in aging experts and practice innovations that transform how the care of older adults is delivered. Since 1982, The John A. Hartford Foundation has awarded more than $724 million in grants to enhance the health and well-being of older people.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) brings awareness of safety and quality to millions, catalyzes learning and the systematic improvement of care, develops solutions to previously intractable challenges, and mobilizes health systems, communities, regions, and nations to reduce harm and deaths.