The VA healthcare system currently is grappling with about 50,000 vacancies, mostly among doctors, nurses, social workers and physician aides. In addition, the turnover rate among nurses is the highest the department has experienced since 2005.
Panel Recommends Closing Some VAMCs, More Emphasis on Outpatient Care
After months of anticipation and years of research, VA has released its Asset and Infrastructure Report (AIR), laying out recommendations for how VA should evolve its physical footprint in the coming decades.
VA, House Committee Consider Future of Vet Center Autonomy
As VA looks at the future of its Vet Center program and whether it is meeting current demand, one of its tasks is to find the balance between keeping Vet Centers’ historic autonomy and making sure the department is providing up-to-date care, especially for veterans who are high-risk for suicide and other mental health issues.
Why Do Cataract, TKA Surgeries Often Cost More at VA vs. Outside Care?
New study raises questions about which veterans requiring cataract and total knee replacement surgeries received community care, as opposed to the cases kept within the VA system.
VA Announces Ambitious Plan to Improve Staff Recruitment, Retention
VA recently unveiled a 10-step human infrastructure plan designed to strengthen the department’s ability to recruit and retain staff.
VA Researchers Track COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Healthcare Workers
As the COVID-19 pandemic exploded and Rebecca Hendrickson, MD, PhD, began hearing reports from friends and colleagues who were in the middle of the first waves in New York and Italy, she found their stories all too familiar.
National Guard Pandemic Response Proves Motto ‘Always Ready, Always There’
For more than two years, the National Guard has risen to the challenges posed by COVID-19 as the pandemic has disrupted lives, supply chains, health care, education and more.
Transition to Civilian Life Remains Difficult Years After Military Discharge
Each year, more than 200,000 servicemembers leave the U.S. military—a transition that can prove difficult.
VA OIG Questions VA’s Data on Ability to Provide Specialty Healthcare
Part of the VA MISSION Act of 2018 required VA to conduct a nationwide audit of its healthcare system’s capacity, identify gaps in care and make recommendations for modernizing or realigning VA facilities to fill those gaps.
VA Gets Approval for 10th Information Technology Chief in Last Decade
VA’s new assistant secretary for the Office of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer is the 10th executive to serve in that post in as many years.
VA Secretary Warns of Hard Conversations Ahead on Agency Resources
VA Secretary Denis McDonough vowed to legislators that the agency will use the lessons it learned during COVID-19 to make the agency stronger going forward.
Military Begins Discharges of Servicemembers Refusing COVID-19 Vaccines
Most active-duty U.S. servicemembers had been vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-December, when the Army set its deadline.
DoD Will Provide Medical Workers to Help Civilian Hospitals Fight Omicron
In response to the surge of COVID-19 cases related to the omicron variant, President Joe Biden said that an additional 1,000 military medical personnel would be available to aid civilian hospitals in the United States by early this year.
Dinardo Urges VA Physicians to Consider All Possibilities With Diagnoses
A clinician’s mind leaps to a diagnosis. It matches the symptoms; it wouldn’t be that unusual for a patient of that age; it seems the most likely solution to the answers that both veteran and physician are seeking.
Nearly All VA Employees Comply with Federal COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements
Nearly all, 98%, of VA employees facing a COVID-19 vaccination requirement have had at least one dose of vaccine or have requested an exception or extension, according to White House data released just before Thanksgiving.
Senator Continues Push to Create More Joint DoD/VA Healthcare Facilities
The James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in Chicago is the only joint DoD/VA healthcare facility in operation—a partnership between VA and the Navy. With a gentle push from Congress, that might change in the not-too-distant future.
Survey: VA EHR Deployment Drove Down Staff Morale at Spokane VAMC
Despite lingering problems with the deployment of its new electronic medical record system at the Mann-Grandstaff VAMC in Spokane, VA, officials said the department is still on track to deploy the system in Columbus, OH, early in 2022.
Military Surgeon Readiness Continues to Decline as Patient Caseloads Drop
Military surgeon readiness continues to decrease because of declining workload, and a new study suggested that patient flow care at the MHS will have to dramatically change to reverse the situation.
LA VAMC Researcher Works to Create Racial, Ethnic, Gender Equity in Healthcare
When Donna Washington, MD, MPH, moved to Los Angeles for a health services fellowship at UCLA following her residency, she imagined that she would end up working in a county or public health system.
House VA Committee Investigates Recruitment of Veterans by Extremist Groups
What role, if any, does VA have in preventing the recruitment of veterans into organizations that promote violence against the United States and its citizens? A trio of hearings hosted by the House Veterans Affairs Committee explored the question.
Military Bases Add Additional Restrictions to Help Stem COVID-19 Spread
U.S. military bases around the country—and some around the world—have begun to increase health protection measures to guard against the surge in COVID-19 cases due to variants, such as delta, that have been spreading for months.
LGBTQ Veterans Ousted By ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Eligible for VA Benefits
VA Secretary Denis McDonough sent guidance to Veterans’ Benefit Administration adjudicators restating that veterans who were given other than honorable discharges under the military’s former Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy are eligible for the full range of VA benefits.
Veteran Was Missing for Almost a Month Before Decomposed Body Found
On June 12, 2020, a badly decomposed body was found in the emergency exit stairwell of the Bedford Veterans Quarters (BVQ), a privately operated, independent living facility on the campuses of VA’s Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital.
How Mandatory HCP Vaccines Affect Infections
The VA led the way among federal agencies in requiring front-line health workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. It later expanded the requirement to most VHA employees, volunteers and contractors who work in those facilities or come in contact with veteran patients and healthcare workers as part of their duties.
National Guard Responds to Hurricane Ida Catastrophe
As of the end of August, the National Guard had activated more than 5,200 personnel in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama in response to Hurricane Ida, according to Army Maj. Gen. William D. “Hank” Taylor, the Joint Staff deputy director for regional operations.
COVID-19 Vaccine Expected to Be Required for Military Personnel This Month
The DoD plans to request a presidential waiver to require all servicemembers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting in mid-September, according to a memo sent by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
VA Police Likely Will Be Equipped With Body Cameras to Provide More Data
VA’s police force will likely soon be equipped with body-worn cameras, either through the department’s own initiative or by legislative fiat.
VA EHR Rollout at First Site Was Flawed, Needs Reconfiguration
The initial rollout of VA’s new electronic health record (EHR) system at the Mann-Grandstaff VAMC was deeply flawed and requires serious reconfiguring.
Despite Delays, NCAA Attorney Donald Remy Confirmed as VA’s Deputy Secretary
Former National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) attorney Donald Remy, an Army veteran, has been confirmed by the Senate to be the VA’s deputy secretary.
Pain Cream Sellers Sentenced for Bilking TRICARE Out of Mega-Millions
Prosecution continues for defendants charged in a number of nearly-identical schemes to defraud TRICARE and other insurers out of hundreds of millions of dollars by exploiting a former loophole in the billing process for compound drugs.