VA Healthcare-VISN 4
High Performance System - Facility Outcomes
High Performance System - Facility Outcomes
The James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center in Altoona established 100 CITC provider agreements in just over five months!
For the sixth consecutive year, VA Butler Healthcare ranked first place in the National VA Dentistry Survey of Dental Care Experiences of Patients. In every survey measure, including patient satisfaction for overall experience, VA Butler scored well above the national average.
In February 2016, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System's simulation training program received advanced certification from VA's national Employee Education System Simulation Division. Simulation-based clinical training utilizes modern technology, such as life-like mannequins who breathe and have a heartbeat, in an area that replicates an actual environment where health care is provided, such as an intensive care room or an operating room. Practicing skills and decision making in a safe, realistic, and supportive learning environment, where it is acceptable to fail and try again, improves the quality of clinical education and contributes to patient safety. There are three levels of certification – basic, intermediate and advanced – which last for two years and are renewable. Only six VA facilities nationwide have achieved the advanced certification.
In September 2016, the Coatesville VA Medical Center's Mental Health Residential Treatment Programs received full accreditation for a period of three years from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. To receive this accreditation, the medical center had to go through a rigorous peer review process and demonstrated to the surveyors a commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.
In just ten years (2006 to 2016), Erie VA Medical Center broke down barriers to care and increased annual behavioral health clinic reach by more than 2,000 Veterans and nearly 31,000 visits. They were able to expand their reach by utilizing modern tools such as in-home Clinical Video Telehealth for Veterans with transportation issues or physical limitations and equipping their homeless care team with iPads to help Veterans access health information, fill out job applications, and also use Clinical Video Telehealth to connect to behavioral health specialists. They also utilized Clinical Video Telehealth to bring a PTSD education program to Veterans at their outpatient clinics.
Lebanon VA Medical Center announced the expansion of its academic affiliation with Penn State College of Medicine. Currently, the Lebanon VAMC trains approximately 180 doctors and 30 physician assistants from the Penn State College of Medicine each year. The expansion will increase the number of residents in family medicine, psychiatry, and hospice and palliative care. The partnership also provides training to fellows or residents in cardiology, hematology/oncology, neurology, and ophthalmology.
In 2016, Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center opened a new Women's Health Clinic as one if its patient-centered care initiatives. Although women's health services were being offered within the facility's primary care clinic, the space that was allocated did not meet all of the new VA standards of care for Women Veterans. The primary goal of the initiative was to further the implementation of the VA's mandate to eliminate barriers to Women Veterans having access to and utilizing specialized health care services. The new Clinic was designed to address these concerns by integrating care, promoting gender sensitivity, and providing a safe and comfortable environment for the provision of that care.
The Long Term Care Institute conducted a positive and successful survey of the Wilmington VA Medical Center Community Living Center (CLC)! In addition, the CLC was identified as one of the 10 highest performing CLCs in the nation for quality and patient-centeredness. Wilmington VAMC's CLC staff were selected to participate in a VA study called "Resident-centered Environments in CLCs: Helping Activate Relationships and Generate Engagement study."
