The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Connecticut Department of Veterans’ Affairs Commissioner Linda S. Schwartz for the position of assistant secretary for policy and planning at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Schwartz, from her home in Pawcatuck, said it had been more than a year since she first received the offer from the White House and was excited to get started in the new position.

The VA has experienced turbulent times since that call. A scandal involving delays in treatment to some of the more than 8 million patients served each year by the Veterans Health Administration led to investigations and culminated with the resignation earlier this year of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki.

Schwartz will be principal adviser to new VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald on matters of policy and organizational strategy.

“It was very hard to watch what was going on in the VA without being in there,” Schwartz said. “I firmly believe I can do something to help. I’ve worked hard on the outside to change the VA. Now I have the opportunity to work on the inside.”

Schwartz is the first woman in the state’s history to run the State Veterans Home in Rocky Hill and helped secure nearly $50 million in federal and state funding to renovate the home, build the Sgt. John L. Levitow Veterans’ Health Center and upgrade the State Veterans’ Cemetery. She is also credited with expanding access to support services.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy applauded Schwartz’s confirmation and in a statement said she “knows first-hand the needs of our military men and women upon returning to civilian life. Her expertise will be of great benefit to veterans across the country, as well as those right here in Connecticut.”

Malloy announced that Deputy Commissioner Joseph Perkins will serve in the role of acting commissioner of the state agency while a search is conducted for a permanent commissioner.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Schwartz understands how the delays in VA programs, the backlog of compensation claims and insufficient health care affects veterans. When Schwartz was first nominated, Blumenthal said “I think she’ll be a tremendous advocate for reform and a real change agent in the VA.”

Blumenthal and fellow Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on Tuesday released a joint press statement congratulating Schwartz.

“Connecticut and all of our veterans will have a strong advocate at the VA with Linda Schwartz fighting for better services and programs,” the statement reads. “With the VA in critical need of new approaches, greater accountability and new people to tackle tough challenges — including veterans with disabilities, persistent problems with wait times, and invisible wounds like post-traumatic stress — Linda Schwartz assumes her new post with a strong vote of confidence from the United States Senate.”

Schwartz has served as state VA commissioner since 2003. She holds a master’s degree in nursing from Yale University and a doctorate in public health from the Yale School of Medicine.

She served in the U.S. Air Force, both active duty and as a reservist, from 1967 to 1986. She retired after sustaining injuries in an aircraft accident while serving as a flight nurse. A hatch blew off the aircraft while flying at 30,000 feet.

Because of that accident, Schwartz said, “I have learned the business of the VA from the ground up.”

“I went from patient, to patient advocate, to commissioner,” she said.

Schwartz said one of her top priorities will be to ensure that the medical records kept by the Defense Department and the VA are integrated, which has been one of the biggest challenges facing the VA. Lawmakers and veterans’ groups have criticized the attempts to develop a single integrated electronic medical record thus far because of the mounting costs and delays.

On numerous occasions, Schwartz has consulted on veterans’ studies, advised the VA secretary on policies and appeared before Congress to talk about veterans’ issues. Schwartz has led the VA Advisory Committee on Women Veterans and the National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs, an organization made up of top veterans’ affairs officials.

Schwartz started the state’s “Stand Down,” an annual event that has provided thousands of veterans with free services, assistance and information. She worked to provide housing for homeless veterans and for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

And she helped convince state legislators to support a jail diversion program for veterans struggling with war trauma-related problems, and a requirement that cities and towns designate a veterans’ service contact person to help veterans get the services and benefits they have earned.

Schwartz plans to commute from Pawcatuck, where she has lived since 1980 with her husband, Stanley, who is a partner at Noah’s Restaurant. She said the controversy at the federal level has already led to some changes that will lead to “better, more timely care,” for veterans of southeastern Connecticut, whose population is composed of about 20 percent veterans.

“My biggest thing is keeping faith with the veterans. I don’t see numbers, I see faces,” she said.

g.smith@theday.com

Twitter: @SmittyDay