Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the reappointment of Dr. Kenneth Hughes, Julia Eszlinger Jensen, and Ronald Sanford to the Veterans Health Care Advisory Council. All three are appointed to four-year terms that expire on January 6, 2014.

Hughes, of St. Paul, is a licensed general physician and a certified family physician with experience in orthopedic injuries, elder care, psychiatric aid, and nursing home care. He is a recipient of both the Bronze Star with Valor and Purple Heart awards from the U.S. Army, where he served as a field medic in Vietnam. Hughes earned his doctor of medicine degree from the University of Oregon School of Medicine, and his bachelor of science degree from Portland (Oregon) State University. After medical school, he completed a three-year residency in family medicine at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Hughes serves as the clinician member of the council.

Eszlinger Jensen, of St. Paul, is a retired colonel with the U.S. Air Force and has extensive experience in both the military and health care field. A licensed registered nurse, she is a former commander and chief nurse at the 109th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron of the Minnesota Air National Guard, Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, and Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Eszlinger Jensen earned her flight nurse diploma and certificate of aeronautical designation from the School of Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, Texas, her master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and her bachelor’s degree from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul.

Sanford, of Edina, is chief operating officer of Elim Care, Inc. in Eden Prairie, a faith-based, non-profit corporation serving older adults in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa. He has over 23 years of leadership experience in the long-term care and older adult services field. Sanford was a Chaplain’s assistant in the U.S. Army in Fort Polk, Louisiana. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois. In addition to serving on the Veterans Health Care Advisory Council, he has also been a member of the boards of directors of the Evangelical Free Church of America and Freeport West in Minneapolis.

The Veterans Health Care Advisory Council advises the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs and makes recommendations on the current and anticipated future needs of veterans, information and professional expertise on any and all aspects of the delivery of quality long term care to veterans, clinical performance and quality improvements, study current issues and trends in the long term care industry, and develop a strategic plan for Minnesota veterans homes. The council consists of nine members appointed by the Governor.