Facility Awards
Facility Awards
Altoona VA Medical Center was inducted into the Blair County Business Hall of Fame on Oct. 20, 2014.
When the medical center opened in 1950, 250 employees were charged with the care and treatment of 200 Veterans in inpatient beds. Now, just over 700 employees provide a vast array of advanced medical care to almost 25,000 Veterans in multiple settings ranging from primary care to behavioral health, to radiology, physical therapy, acute and long term care residential units and much more.
Despite fluctuating annual budget allocations over the past 64 years, Altoona VA has never laid off employees. With the support of elected officials, the community, the American Federation of Government Employees, and all staff, the medical center has become one of Blair County's most significant employers and community resources.
The Patriot Café at the Lebanon VA Medical Center was selected as one of the best dining facilities in the entire VA. Lebanon's Veterans Canteen Service was one of 15 recipients of the "Outstanding Canteen of the Year" award, which annually recognizes dining facilities and retail outlets at VA medical centers which exceed customer service expectations, reflect outstanding operating results, and meet or exceed standards for year-end-inventory management. This is the second year in a row for the Lebanon facility to receive the honor.
The term "Canteen" is an old military reference to cafeterias or areas where troops could dine, socialize, or purchase items for personal use.
The Jewish Healthcare Foundation, in partnership with The Fine Foundation, announced the winning teams for the 2014 Fine Award for Teamwork Excellence in Health Care on Nov.12, 2014. VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System took home a platinum award for revamped policies and procedures for anesthesia, surgery, and recovery for joint replacement patients. This award–the third Fine award earned by VA Pittsburgh–is open to all western Pennsylvania health care providers. It encourages teamwork in developing systems, tools and programs that better serve patients and families.
In a national survey, Lebanon VA Medical Center was ranked among the top ten educational sites within the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The annual survey entitled "Learner Perception Survey" is conducted with medical residents each calendar year by VA to identify high-performing educational facilities. Over the past two years, medical residents rated their experience at the Lebanon VA Medical Center in the top 10 sites among VA facilities in the Nation.
This year, the internal medicine program at Lebanon VA was ranked number one in the state among VA hospitals. While Lebanon VA's principle medical school affiliation is with Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, Lebanon maintains more than 100 other academic training agreements.
Dr. Michael MaCauley, a hospitalist physician at Lebanon VA is the medical residency coordinator. "Nearly 70% of physicians practicing medicine in the United States received some of their clinical training at VA facilities," he said. "No other health care organization can make that claim. Our Nation depends on us getting it right and our clinical staff consistently demonstrates their ability to do that very thing. VA is a great place to work as a physician."
Three VISN 4 facilities received awards from Practice GreenHealth, the Nation's leading health care community that empowers its members to increase their efficiencies and environmental stewardship while improving patient safety and care through tools, best practices and knowledge.
Altoona VA Medical Center, the first VA medical center ever to win the Top 25 Award, won the award for the second year in a row, as well as a Top Ten Circle of Excellence award for water conservation. The Top 25 Award is the highest environmental excellence award given by Practice Greenhealth each year to honor environmental achievements in the health care sector.
Erie VA Medical Center received an Emerald Award, which recognizes health care facilities that go above and beyond in regards to environmental stewardship. Erie VA was recognized as a leader in excellence in efficiency and sustainability in two categories: energy efficiency and sustainability; and water conservation and efficiency.
Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center received the Partner for Change Award for developing a program that reduced the production of regulated medical waste by 60 tons per year and developing a program to reduce solid waste production by selling 25 tons of wooden pallets collected by the warehouse instead of sending them to the landfill.
All nine VISN 4 medical centers earned a Gold Cornerstone Recognition Award. VA's Patient Safety Cornerstone Recognition Award recognizes VA medical centers who meet standards established by the VA National Center for Patient Safety
Patient safety managers and their hospital-based patient safety programs are reviewed based on staff-reported adverse events and close calls, which represent the foundation of a robust and effective patient safety program. The national program is intended to inspire the culture of open communication in reporting and identifying system issues related to patient safety.
