Jamie Bennet
Executive Mosaic is pleased to unveil Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, director of the Defense Health Agency, as the latest inductee into this year’s Wash100 roster of impactful leaders that demonstrated vision, achievement and innovation for their organization.
2023 marks the 10th year of Executive Mosaic honoring executives and officials who drive the government contracting ecosystem. Crosland has been selected to receive this award in recognition of her keen desire to make technology a vital part of military health service.
Don’t forget to vote for your favorite awardees from the 2023 class of influential GovCon figures at Wash100.com by April 28!
Crosland became the fourth director and the first African American to hold the post in DHA’s history. At her Jan. 3 appointment ceremony, she noted the agency’s vision to “care for the joint force and those we are privileged to serve – anytime, anywhere – always.”
She vowed to cultivate a “disciplined approach” to help the Military Health System innovate during her first year in office.
“Our vision of the future is one where physicians, nurses and medics and corpsmen are liberated by technology rather than burdened by it; a vision where the burden of monitoring and entering data for providers and patients is offloaded on devices and services that are connected, interoperable, and—through the use of AI—smart,” Crosland said at the 2023 AMSUS Annual Meeting in Maryland.
“We, as an organization, need to adopt a culture that embraces innovation in a disciplined way. My first step is to be able to see all the great things out there that are going on… [and] move us as an organization from the brick and mortar to a digitalized organization.”
Before joining DHA, she was deputy surgeon general of the U.S. Army and deputy commanding general of operations at Army Medical Command.
“I had those two jobs together as a pandemic kicked off,” she said, reflecting on her term during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Military Academy and Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences graduate joined the Army in 1993 as a Medical Corps officer. Several of her previous assignments occurred at military installations, hospitals and clinics in the U.S., South Korea and Germany.
Looking ahead as leader of DHA, Crosland pledged her commitment to patients receiving military health services and expressed confidence that the agency is “uniquely positioned” to surpass care delivery challenges.
“We are the payer. We run the system, and we care about our patients. Our patients are our patients for in perpetuity. You don’t sign up every year and bounce in and out of Tri-care. We see our patients for life. I see opportunities to modernize and go after value-based care,” she asserted.
Executive Mosaic commends Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland for her achievements in advancing military health services. It is our honor to induct her into the Wash100, and we are excited to see the Defense Health Agency’s projects under her leadership.
Vote for your favorite awardees from the 2023 class of GovCon leaders at Wash100.com. The Popular Vote competition will close April 28.
