After May 30, Dr. Michael Murphy will be looking for a new place to wear neckties because there is no need to look professional while riding around Mesa County on a motorcycle.
Murphy is retiring after a 33-year career in the Veterans Affairs system, including a 40-month stay as director of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Grand Junction.
Three people have interviewed for his position, but an appointment likely won’t be made until later this summer, Murphy said. He is not on the search committee.
By August, Murphy, 67, and his wife, Pat, will be out on the open roads, riding their dark orange Honda Gold Wing motorcycle.
“She’s got two rules,” Murphy said. “The bike goes out a lot, and it doesn’t go out without Mama.”
Murphy also plans to increase time spent skiing, hiking and visiting family across the country. The Murphys have five children, 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
On Friday afternoon, two weeks before his retirement becomes official, wearing a green sport jacket and a purple, blue, orange, gold and green tie, Murphy talked about his time as director of the local VA and the challenges facing his successor.
“If I could have handwritten my final assignment in the VA, I couldn’t have written a better one than coming to the VA in Grand Junction,” he said.
The reputation of the local VA is solid across the country in terms of its accessibility and quality of care backed up by customer satisfaction reports, Murphy said.
He added that the VA does receive complaints, and he reads them all, choosing to improve on a problem rather than get defensive about it.
Within the past two years, the country’s VA system has received increased funding, which has enabled the local hospital to renovate and expand in anticipation of the increased demand for its services, as Vietnam War veterans age and vets from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom return.
An estimated $30 million in new improvements to the VA are planned. Funding is secured, meaning the new director will inherit “projects in process,” Murphy said.
The improvements include a new third floor with new surgical suites, a new intensive care unit, a new post-surgery recovery area and a new supply distribution area.
The local VA has 15,000 veterans enrolled and annually sees approximately 11,000 people, Murphy said.
Also in the works is the moving of business-related offices to modulars to free up 8,000 square feet for mental health services. Exterior improvements are under way and visible from North Avenue. Additional interior projects are also scheduled.
Murphy said several challenges await his successor, including the urge to get complacent overseeing an already reputable medical center.
“We can’t afford to do that,” he said. “Veterans can’t afford for us to do that.”
The number of veterans entering the VA system in western Colorado and southeastern Utah likely will increase with a growing population and additional veterans returning from the Middle East. The survival rate of injured personnel today is higher than it was 40 years ago, said Murphy, adding that improvements in battlefield medical care and improved protective gear has enabled veterans to return home alive but with “life-affecting” injuries.
Murphy never served overseas, but he spent 38 years in the Nebraska Air National Guard, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. He received the Air Force Commendation Medal.
“I liked being around airplanes,” Murphy said. “To this day, if I get somewhere where there is jet propulsion fuel, it will take me right back to 1959.”
When he left the service in 1996, Murphy was the chief executive officer of the VA of Northern Indiana. Murphy got his start in the VA medical system in Omaha as a speech pathologist 33 years ago.
A public retirement party for Murphy is planned for 1 to 3 p.m. May 23 in Building 6 at the VA Medical Center.
“It’s been a 33-year pleasure for me to care for America’s veterans,” Murphy said, “and I’ve had the pleasure to do it in a great organization.”
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E-mail Melinda Mawdsley at mmawdsley@gjds.com.
