Arlington National Cemetery Veterans Day Program features Amarillo VA psychiatrist

The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Secretary has selected Dr. Michael T. Lambert, a psychiatrist at the Amarillo VA Health Care System, to be featured by VA Secretary Denis McDonough during the Arlington National Cemetery Veterans Day Program on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m.

According to a news release, Dr. Lambert is one of two VA employees selected for this distinguished honor out of several nominations from each VA health care system across the nation.

Viewers can watch the national ceremony online at this link: http://bit.ly/3MAQjX2 .

“This honor is surreal,” Dr. Lambert said in the release. “Good things can only happen with the support and confidence of the top leaders I served under and learned from.”

Dr. Lambert has served veterans as a VA psychiatrist for 37 years. He graduated from University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio in 1983 and completed his residency training in Adult Psychiatry in 1987 at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He began his VA career as a VA Chief Psychiatry Resident in 1986, and then was a lead psychiatrist at the Dallas VA Medical Center for 20 years.

In 2008, Dr. Lambert became the Chief of Behavioral Health at Amarillo VA HCS, where he has served for the last 15 years.

"Despite the challenges of a highly rural health care system, under Dr. Lambert’s leadership, the Amarillo VA Behavioral Health Service transformed into the highest performing facility in the country," the release states. "Since 2019, for 11 of the last 19 quarters, Amarillo has ranked number one in the country on Mental Health performance measures."

“Dr. Lambert is truly a valuable employee and an outstanding Behavioral Health leader for our Veterans and staff,” said Dr. Rodney S. Gonzalez, Amarillo VA HCS director.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Arlington Veterans Day Program features Amarillo VA psychiatrist