2013 Year in Review – West Palm Beach VA Medical Center

The excellent quality of care our Veteran patients receive at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center (WPB VAMC) is a result of the hard work and dedication of all our staff, volunteers and partners in the community. We are especially proud of the following accomplishments achieved for Fiscal Year 2013:

 

• Hired additional Mental Health providers and support staff, increased Mental Health capacity at Community Based Outpatient Clinics and expanded Mental Health hours of operation.

• Held first Mental Health Summit with 60 community partners in attendance to develop a plan to improve coordination of care.

• Completed 378 outreach visits to soup kitchens, parks, homeless facilities, and VA Community Outpatient Clinics resulting in 81 Veterans being enrolled.

• Held annual CHALENG/Homeless Summit with 51 attendees representing 19 community partners in attendance to discuss prevention services and rapid rehousing needs.

• Of the 400 HUD-VASH (Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing) vouchers available, WPB VAMC has 332 Veterans leased in permanent housing and 41 Veterans with vouchers currently looking for apartments.

• Achieved an 11% increase in the number of Veterans served by Telehealth with 31% of all patients receiving part of their care virtually.

• Expanded non-institutional care programs such as Home Based Primary Care by 31% from a census of 154 to 222, Medical Foster Home from 7 homes to 15 and Caregiver Support with a 41% increase in contacts from 200 to 340 contacts.

• Increased surgical workload by 11% and surgery complexity by 15% in the areas of General Surgery, Vascular, Orthopedics, and Thoracic.

 

• Received Full Accreditation status by the Joint Commission for our Hospital, Long Term Care, Home Care, and Behavioral Health Programs.

• Received Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for our Health Care for Homeless Veterans and Compensated Work Therapy programs.

• Police Service received the highest rating, including recognition for our excellent partnerships with local law enforcement, from VA Central Office of Security and Law Enforcement.

 

• All Primary Care and Community Based Outpatient Clinics have implemented Patient Aligned Care Teams. West Palm Beach VA is the highest scoring facility in the Florida VA Network for measures associated with access, coordination and continuity.

• Participated in a comprehensive organization assessment with the VA Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation to support VA’s goal for creating a whole health experience by changing the practice of health care to a personalized, proactive, patient driven approach to health care.

• Revised New Employee Orientation to strengthen the focus on Patient Centered Care.

• Moved Ft. Pierce Community Based Outpatient Clinic to a new location that provides more space, increased parking and better accessibility in the community.

 

• 45.45% of our hires in FY 13 were Veterans for a total of 782 Veterans on board as of 9/30/13, which represents an increase of 13.14% from FY 12 where 32.31% of our hires were Veterans.

• Participated in the Pathway Internship Program that exposes students with paid, meaningful developmental assignments to explore Federal careers while in school.

• Established the following employee wellness opportunities: expansion of employee health screening program, weight management program, on-site and off-site fitness activities, wellness SharePoint site and wellness fair.

 

• Non-VA Care Committee was established to closely monitor non-VA health care costs, containment and quality. Committee proved successful at negotiating rates or obtaining financial agreements for non-VA care and reducing dependence on non-VA care in Optometry, Imaging, Podiatry, Dental and Rehab.

• LEAN/Six-Sigma concepts have been employed throughout the medical center to improve processes. Completed 15 LEAN projects with substantial sustained improvements.

• Energy-saving projects awarded included installation of a gas fueling station for government vehicles, energy efficient lighting, replacement of building automation i.e. air conditioning, and replacement of outdated air handler units.

• Summer Youth Program recruited 70 volunteers, which exceeded last year’s numbers.