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VA Healthcare-VISN 4

 

Director's Vision

Director's Vision

Dear Veterans, fellow employees, volunteers and friends of VISN 4:

Michael Adelman, MD, Network Director

Our VA Secretary, Dr. David Shulkin, has laid out his five priorities for strategic actions throughout the Department. In working to achieve these priorities, we will aim to provide Veterans safe, high-quality, personalized, and timely care wherever they receive the services they have earned and deserve. I'd just like to run through these very quickly, and how they might affect Veterans in VISN 4.

Clipart graphic of a pair of feet below a set of three arrows pointing in different directions.Greater Choice for Veterans

Dr. Shulkin is committed to providing greater choice for Veterans. He believes that we must make bold changes so that Veterans will choose VA. However, we do still aim to provide a high-performing, integrated network of care by pairing the best of what is available in VA with the best of what is available in the private sector (or elsewhere in the federal government). VA wants to make it easier for Veterans to receive community care when VA isn't able to provide the care, or doesn't have the level of care that Veterans need.

Dr. Shulkin also wants VA to recommit to greater transparency by showing Veterans how VA care compares to the private sector and by simplifying the way VA measures wait times.

This spring, VA released a new, online access and quality tool. At www.accesstocare.va.gov, anyone can view wait times as well as quality and patient satisfaction data, which compares VA with national, regional and local community hospitals. The wait times and data available varies between facilities.

Additionally, VA uses the Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL) to benchmark VA medical centers, and measures areas such as death rates, complications, and patient satisfaction. A star-rating system ranks each medical center from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). I'm happy to report that four VISN 4 facilities currently have five stars, one has four, and we are working very hard with the other four to improve their ratings. None have a one-star rating, meaning they are below the community standard of care.

Clipart graphic of a networkdiagram.Modernize our Systems

We are focused on modernizing our system to make sure that we have world-class facilities for our Veterans. This involves processes, infrastructure improvements, and electronic medical records, as well as modernizing our IT systems.

Clipart graphic of a dollar sign, a U.S. flag and a caduceus.Focus Resources More Efficiently

Our goal is to be excellent in foundational services, such as our Million Veteran Program.

Clipart graphic of a clock.Improve Timeliness of Services

We want to decrease wait times and provide more same-day services. All VISN 4 facilities currently provide same-day mental health and primary care services.

Clipart graphic of the Veterans crisis line logo.Suicide Prevention

Veterans Crisis Line. 1-800-273-8255 and press 1. Confidential help for Veterans and their families.

This is our biggest clinical priority, and this is where we need help from ALL of our community members to make sure anybody in need knows we are here to help them. We are working with national experts to establish the best strategies possible, including improving the ability to identify at-risk Veterans and intervene early.

We are training all of our staff to better identify those at risk and get them services. We are also using data analytics to identify Veterans at risk and reach out to them through our REACH VET program that started earlier this year. However, of 20 Veteran suicides each day, 14 involve Veterans who have not had contact with VA during the past year, if at all. To really impact Veteran suicide, we must involve our communities.

With these priorities guiding us, VISN 4 will continue to offer the best possible care and services available for Veterans. We owe it to Veterans and we owe it to this Nation.

Thank you for your support of VISN 4, and thank you for reading this e-zine.

Sincerely,

Michael D. Adelman, M.D.
Network Director