Northwestern Memorial HealthCare announced that it named Stephen L. Ondra, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer for Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Ondra was the former senior policy advisor for the US Dept of Veterans Affair. He also was Co-Chair of Health Information Technology in the Office of Science and Technology Policy for the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Ondra had been a neurosurgeon at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for more than thirteen years prior to entering into governmental service. While serving as a senior veteran' affairs advisor and within the Executive Office of the President, Ondra maintained his faculty appointment as professor of neurological surgery for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Ondra assumes the role on April 16, 2012. Ondra's medical career spans nearly three decades.