Ruth Holmes, MS, BSN, RN

NOVA Secretary/Treasurer

Ms. Ruth Holmes, MS, BSN, RN, is an executive level professional nurse with over 40 years of federal service; 32 served in the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and approximately 8 years as a U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps Officer. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey and a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Her nursing career includes a diverse leadership background with extensive clinical and administrative knowledge and skills, including experience in aero-evacuation nursing, Ob/Gyn, medical-surgical, neurology, geriatrics and spinal cord injury. Ms. Holmes has obtained nursing certifications in Geriatrics and Administration. One month after leaving the Air Force, she began her VHA career at the Hampton VA Medical Center, Hampton VA and while there, served 16 years in several supervisory administrative leadership roles, including Nurse Manager, Associate Chief Nurse and Service Line Associate Chief, Spinal Cord Injury/Disorders. 

Ms. Holmes is currently a Clinical Program Manager and Nurse Investigator with the VHA Office of the Medical Inspector (OMI), Central Office VA Headquarters, Washington DC, where she has co-led highly complex Office of Special Counsel, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection and VHA Quality of Care Investigations throughout the 200 plus VHA facilities and clinics for over 16 years. In her role as a Clinical Program Manager and Nurse Investigator for the OMI, she investigates quality of care concerns from Veterans, and whistleblower complaints from providers, nurses and other clinical professionals and VA staff. After completing these investigations, she writes professional reports for the Secretary of the VA, Congress, and the Office of Special Counsel, lawyers who report directly to the President. 

Ms. Holmes is loyal to NOVA, serving on the NOVA Board of Directors for over 8 years in several capacities, including Director and currently as the Secretary/Treasurer of NOVA, of which she has served two terms. She serves as a member of NOVA’s Executive Board, Education, Poster Review, and Legislative Committees and is the Chair of the Finance Committee. Ms. Holmes has been a planner for the annual NOVA conferences and presented twice at the conferences; in 2014 at the 34th annual Meeting titled The Role of the Office of the Medical Inspector in Ensuring Quality, Safety and Value in VHA, and in 2016 at the 36th annual Meeting on Mentors: The Underrated Gems in the VA, Why We Need Them. She is a VHA Certified Mentor and has been a NOVA mentor since the program began in 2016. Ms. Holmes has mentored numerous VHA leaders across the VA. She presented a NOVA Webinar entitled, The Importance of Mentoring for VA Nurses: Introduction of NOVA’s New Mentoring Program. She was the keynote speaker at the Hampton VAMC’s 2012 Nurses Week Program and presented on Nurses, Advocating, Leading, Caring.  

Ms. Holmes is active on committees and task forces in the VA and other federal organizations as well as in her local community. She has served on the VHA Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee for over 10 years and is a graduate of numerous VA and Federal Leadership Development programs, including: Federal Executive Institute for Executive Nurses; Executive Career Field Candidacy program; Healthcare Leadership Institute; Leadership VA; VISN-6 Leadership Development Institute; and others throughout her 32 years in the VA. In the community, Ms. Holmes currently serves as a Board Director for the Southeastern Virginia Health System (SEVHS) where she serves on the Finance and Performance Improvement Committees. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Nurses Honor Society.