Dr. Dekker is currently a member of the Primary Care Service Line at the Northern Arizona Veteran’s Administration Healthcare System in Prescott, Arizona.  He provides primary care and telemedicine services to veterans in mid and northern Arizona areas.  He is also active in the evaluation and treatment of veterans with chronic pain and addiction disorders.

For the past four years, Dr. Dekker was the director of the Department of Addiction Medicine at the Ft Belvoir Community Hospital which is one of the replacement hospitals for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  He directed the four divisions in Addiction Medicine dedicated to the comprehensive evaluation and treatment for substance abuse and dependence disorders in the military.  Dr Dekker is expert in substance dependence and co-occurring disorders in Veterans and the Active Duty Service Member (ADSM) population and with military dependents, and retirees.  He served on the Provider Wellness and Chronic Pain Committees at Fort Belvoir and is a member of the Joint Board of Directors for the Joint Task Force (Walter Reed National Military Medical Center/Fort Belvoir Community Hospital/ National Intrepid Center of Excellence) on Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).

After serving the Indian Health Service from 1998 to 2010 in Arizona he was honored to be a member of the Joint Task Force Medical Team that specializes in the care of Wounded Warriors.  Previously, Dr. Dekker was the Acting Director of the Office of Health Programs at the Phoenix Area Office supervising 15 health departments in Nevada, Utah and Arizona. He was also the Associate Director of the Phoenix Indian Medical Center and the Director, Ambulatory Care and Community Health.  He served as the Director of Medical Education for the Phoenix Indian Medical Center. 

Born and raised in Western Michigan Dr. Dekker graduated from Hope College in Holland Michigan.  He completed his Osteopathic education at Michigan State University in 1978.  He completed his internship and family medicine residency at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and an Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine fellowship at Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago.  As a Public Health Service Scholar Dr. Dekker served Chicago’s South Side for fourteen years.  He was Professor and Chair of Family Medicine at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center and the University of Missouri-Kansas City (Children’s Mercy Hospital) during his four years in Kansas City. 

Dr. Dekker is board certified in Family Practice and Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment, Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, and Addiction Medicine.  He is a Fellow in numerous professional societies.  As a member of the healthcare team at the Northern Arizona Veteran’s Administration Health Care System (NAVAHCS), he is dedicated to the Mission of providing the highest quality care to veterans and active duty military and their dependents.  His areas of expertise include addiction medicine, chronic pain syndromes, infomatics, high risk youth, domestic violence and behavioral health.   Dr. Dekker has been the Chief Clinical Consultant in Addiction Medicine and Chronic Pain for the Indian Health Service, US Public Health Service and has served on several national panels addressing substance abuse in America.  He served on the American Hospital Association Board on Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Issues.  Current faculty appointments include clinical professorships at George Washington University (Washington DC) and the Andrew Taylor Still University (Mesa, AZ).