High Rates of Deployment, Combat Affected Them Mentally, Physically WASHINGTON—This likely will come as little surprise to the VA and DoD medical personnel who care for them, but recent veterans really are very different from those who came before them. A recent...
VA’s Innovation Chief Sees Himself as a Catalyst to Bring People, Ideas Together
PALO ALTO, CA—The journey of Thomas Osborne, MD, into medicine was not a straight line, but it was a path that seems strangely appropriate considering his role now as Director of VA’s brand new National Center for Collaborative Healthcare Innovation. An art student at...
Legislators, OIG Challenge VA Contention That Care Problems Are ‘Isolated’
WASHINGTON—Disturbing incidents involving VA facilities have been in the headlines recently.
VA Facing Critical Healthcare Staffing Shortages in Near Future
WASHINGTON—Oversight agencies are sounding the alarm that VA is plagued with large staffing shortages in critical areas, including physicians, registered nurses, physician assistants, psychologists and physical therapists, as well as human resource specialists.
Advocates Square Off Against VA on Women’s Veterans Task Force’s Role
WASHINGTON—It’s been nearly six months since the House VA Committee launched its bipartisan Women Veterans Task Force, and the result is a legislative docket filled with bills geared toward ensuring VA has the resources it needs to care for the growing number of...
Top VISN 7 Officials Removed After Atlanta VAMC Patient Attacked by Insects
Elderly AF Veteran Had More Than 100 Ant Bites Before Death ATLANTA—Nine VA employees, including the VISN 7 director and chief medical officer, have been reassigned following reports that an elderly patient at the Atlanta VAMC’s Eagles’ Nest Community Living Center...
VBA Improves Oversight of Outside Contractors But Some Gaps Remain
Nearly a year after a Government Accountability Office report revealed that the Veterans’ Benefit Administration had been unable to track the quality, accuracy, and timeliness of the outside contractors
Five Miles High? VA Document Backlog Is Stacking Up, OIG Reports
WASHINGTON — If stacked, VA’s backlog of paper medical documents that are waiting to be digitalized—most generated by veterans’ visits to non-VA providers—would be over 5 miles high, according to a report from the VA inspector general.
Whisteblowers Report Ongoing Harassment for Revealing VA Malfeasance
WASHINGTON — In 2014, Katherine Mitchell, MD, was one of a handful of employees at the Phoenix VAMC who blew the whistle on hospital leadership for keeping a separate, secret list of veterans seeking healthcare—a numerical sleight-of-hand that allowed them to artificially decrease the facility’s wait times.
Efficiency at Expense of Effectiveness? Legislators Blast VBA Management
Recent problems with initiatives implemented by the Veterans Benefits Administration point to much larger, systemic issues in how the agency rolls out new programs, according to the VA Office of the Inspector General.
White House Physician Nominated as VA Secretary After Shulkin Ouster
The nominee for new VA secretary has served as the White House physician for the last three presidential administrations.
Outdated Processes Hamper VHA in Hiring Medical Staff
By Sandra Basu WASHINGTON — VHA is hampered by outdated human resources processes, as well as competition from the private sector, when it comes to hiring medical professionals, agency officials told lawmakers. “We are striving to update not only internal hiring...
Goolsby Uses Variety of Tools to Prepare Military Physicians for Challenging Roles
Maj. Craig Goolsby, MD, wears a lot of hats at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU).
VA Expands Practice Authority for Three High-Level Nurse Categories
The VA has granted full practice authority to three roles of advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) to practice to the full extent of their education, training and certification, regardless of state restrictions.
Honored Nurse: No Plans to Retire After 37 Years on Midnight Shift
Drema Bratton, RN, has made it very clear that she has no plans to retire. “They’re going to have to pry me out of here,” declared Huntington VAMC’s Nurse of the Year.
Slow Start for ‘Choice’ Program to Give Veterans More Care Options
Family Physicians Unlikely to Participate Without Rate Increases By Brenda L. Mooney WASHINGTON - VA officials have been accused of being less than enthusiastic about a new law passed to provide outside care options for certain veterans. If that is true, they aren't...
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