Eugenia Franco-Meyer has been an Orthopedic Physician Associate/Assistant (PA-C) since 2000. She earned her undergraduate Bachelor of Science Degree (BS) from UC Davis in 1995, went to PA school at the University of Washington MEDEX program in 1998, and in 2002, completed an Orthopedic Fellowship at UCSF, where she worked full-time in affiliation with San Francisco Veterans Health Administration.
Upon PA Graduation in 2000, Dr. Franco was awarded the “MEDEX Dr. Richard Layton, MD Award,” where she was recognized at the beginning of her PA career for her commitment to the medically underserved, her leadership potential, and her serving as a MEDEX Mission statement example. She was a recipient winner for the California Bay Area VHA Employee of the Year for 2021 following COVID-19 and received the SFVA PA Appreciation Award in 2023.
From 2004-current, she has been working full-time for SFVA as a Clinician, Educator, and Administrator., assisting with piloting and expanding PAs in VA Community Base Outreach Clinics (CBOC) clinics to underserved areas. In 2023, she graduated with her Doctorate, DMSc at Rocky Mountain University Utah with tracking in Leadership Hospital Administration, where she continues as an adjunct Faculty member.
Dr. Franco was the first PA hired at the Veterans Health Administration in California in 2004. She has been a strong advocate for PAs in the VAs and has helped with PA recruitment nationwide. 2012, Dr. Franco was appointed the San Francisco Veterans Administration (SFVA) Chief Lead PA. In her current position as SFVA Chief PA, Dr. Franco created and implemented the formal SFVA PA Education Director position. She also assisted with the affiliation start-up of SFVA’s first 2 PA Preceptorship Programs and the PRE PA-Internship Program for high schoolers and college students. Since receiving her Doctorate at RMU, Dr. Franco was selected as the Director-at-Large and Executive Member of the Veteran Affairs Physician Assistant Association (VAPAA) in 2023-current. She has served in various SFVA leadership roles, including the SFVA Innovation Leadership Program, VHA Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Access for Veterans (I*DEA), and the SFVA Emergency Management Executive Committee. She was also selected to represent the VA PA House of Delegates (HOD) at AAPA 2024.
Dr. Franco values her family life with her husband, three children, and God. When not working, they have fun BBQ-ing and gardening in their Marin County home or their cabin in Plumas County Forest, where they hike, camp, fish, and relax on their pontoon boat.