Access to Care for VA Dialysis Patients During Superstorm Sandy.

Introduction: This study examines the use of dialysis services by end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients following the Superstorm Sandy-related, months-long closure of the New York campus of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) New York Harbor VA Healthcare System (NYHHS, Manhattan VAMC). Methods: Outpatient visits, dialysis care, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations at VA and non-VA facilities for 47 Manhattan VAMC ESRD patients were examined 12 months pre- and post-Sandy using VA administrative and clinical data. Results: The Brooklyn campus of NYHHS, which is within ten miles of Manhattan VAMC, experienced the largest increase in the number of dialysis encounters after the closure. Dialysis encounters for VA patients also increased at non-VA facilities, rising on average, to 106 per month. For the James J Peters Bronx VAMC, the number of total dialysis encounters for Manhattan VAMC patients fluctuated between 39 and 43 per month, dropping to less than 30 after the Manhattan VAMC dialysis unit reopened. Conclusion: Manhattan VAMC ESRD patients used nearby alternate VA sites and non-VA clinics for their care during the closure of the Manhattan VAMC dialysis unit. The VA electronic health records played an important role in ensuring continuity of care for patients who exclusively used VAMC facilities post-Sandy because patient information was immediately accessible at other VA facilities. The events related to Superstorm Sandy highlight the need for dialysis providers to have a comprehensive disaster plan, including nearby alternate care sites that can increase service capacity when a dialysis facility is closed because of a disaster

A Model for Measuring Ambulatory Access to Care Recovery after Disasters

Introduction: Although little research has examined impacts of disasters on scheduled ambulatory care services, routine care delivery is important for emergency planning and response because missed or delayed care can lead to more urgent care needs. This article presents potential measures of ambulatory care recovery and resilience and applies the measures to data around a recent disaster. Methods: We conceptualize “ambulatory care recovery” as the change in median business days to complete appointments that were canceled, and “ambulatory care resiliency” as the change in percentage of completed appointments in time frames before, during, and after disasters. Appointments data from Veterans Affairs (VA) clinics were examined around a category 4 hurricane that affected a coastal area with a substantial veteran population. Results: For the disaster studied, ambulatory care resilience was associated with geographic proximity to the storm’s impact. Primary care recovery was longer in locations closest to storm landfall. This research indicates the usefulness of routine appointments data in emergency planning. Conclusion: Quantifying care disruptions around disasters is an important step in assessing interventions to improve emergency preparedness and response for clinics. The illustrative example of measures captured the disaster event duration and severity in relation to ambulatory care appointments.U.S. Department of Veterans Affair

The critical elements of effective academic-practice partnerships: a framework derived from the Department of Veterans Affairs Nursing Academy.

BackgroundThe nursing profession is exploring how academic-practice partnerships should be structured to maximize the potential benefits for each partner. As part of an evaluation of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Nursing Academy (VANA) program, we sought to identify indicators of successful partnerships during the crucial first year.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative analysis of 142 individual interviews and 23 focus groups with stakeholders from 15 partnerships across the nation. Interview respondents typically included the nursing school Dean, the VA chief nurse, both VANA Program Directors (VA-based and nursing school-based), and select VANA faculty members. The focus groups included a total of 222 VANA students and the nursing unit managers and staff from units where VANA students were placed. An ethnographic approach was utilized to identify emergent themes from these data that underscored indicators of and influences on Launch Year achievement.ResultsWe emphasize five key themes: the criticality of inter-organizational collaboration; challenges arising from blending different cultures; challenges associated with recruiting nurses to take on faculty roles; the importance of structuring the partnership to promote evidence-based practice and simulation-based learning in the clinical setting; and recognizing that stable relationships must be based on long-term commitments rather than short-term changes in the demand for nursing care.ConclusionsDeveloping an academic-clinical partnership requires identifying how organizations with different leadership and management structures, different responsibilities, goals and priorities, different cultures, and different financial models and accountability systems can bridge these differences to develop joint programs integrating activities across the organizations. The experience of the VANA sites in implementing academic-clinical partnerships provides a broad set of experiences from which to learn about how such partnerships can be effectively implemented, the barriers and challenges that will be encountered, and strategies and factors to overcome challenges and build an effective, sustainable partnership. This framework provides actionable guidelines for structuring and implementing effective academic-practice partnerships that support undergraduate nursing education

Organizational Challenges in Developing One of the Nationwide Health Information Network Trial Implementation Awardees

Health care in the United States is rarely delivered in a coordinated manner. Current methods to share patient information are inefficient and may lead to medical errors, higher readmission rates, and delays in the delivery of needed health services. This qualitative study describes lessons learned concerning the early implementation of one Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) site in Long Beach, CA during its first year of operation. The Long Beach Network for Health (LBNH) focused on an incremental effort to exchange health information. Despite a limited concentration on emergency department care, virtually all respondents noted concerns regarding the sustainability, or business case, for the exchange of health information. Nevertheless, respondents were encouraged by progress on technological challenges and user requirements during this first year. The early gains in this process may, in turn, have laid the groundwork for future efforts to expand beyond the emergency department

Provider Stakeholders’ Perceived Benefit from a Nascent Health Information Exchange: A Qualitative Analysis

We sought to better understand the perceived costs and benefits of joining a nascent health information exchange (HIE) from the perspective of potential provider organization participants. We therefore conducted semi-structured interviews with organizational representatives. Interview transcriptions were thematically coded, and coded text was subsequently aggregated to summarize the breadth and depth of responses. Although no respondents expected HIE to result in net financial benefit to their organization, all respondents recognized some potential benefits, and some respondents expected HIE to result in overall organizational benefit. Disproportionate benefit was expected for the poorest, sickest patients. Many respondents had concerns about HIE increasing the risk of data security breaches, and these concerns were most pronounced at larger organizations. We found little evidence of organizational concern regarding loss of patients to other organizations or publication of unfavorable quality data. If HIE’s greatest benefactors are indeed the poorest, sickest patients, our current health care financing environment will make it difficult to align HIE costs with benefits. To sustain HIE, state and federal governments may need to consider ongoing subsidies. Furthermore, these governments will need to ensure that policies regulating data exchange have sufficient nationwide coordination and liability limitations that the perceived organizational risks of joining HIEs do not outweigh perceived benefits. HIE founders can address organizational concerns by attempting to coordinate HIE policies with those of their largest founding organizations, particularly for data security policies. Early HIE development and promotional efforts should not only focus on potential benefits, but should also address organizational concerns

Destigmatizing Experiences of Combat Veterans Engaged in Civilian Disaster Relief: Implications for Community Transition

Combat veterans possess some attributes of differentness that may cause others in society to create stigmatized perceptions of them and devalue their skills. Direct interaction/contact allows targeted individuals—in this case, combat veterans—to demonstrate their value by dispelling negative attitudes or beliefs others may have of them. A previous study reported that the disaster relief setting facilitates contact among combat veterans and non-military civilians. This study applied Modified Labeling Theory (MLT) to assess if the stigma and labeling experience among combat veterans volunteering in disaster settings provides a nuanced understanding. Semi-structured interviews were used to assess perceptions of male Team Rubicon (TR) members (n=9) who provide disaster relief in civilian settings. All participants served in combat. Data were thematically analyzed. Findings suggest 1) combat veterans were not stigmatized by their label; and 2) personal contact with civilians impacted by disaster helped TR members a) to demonstrate their value, and b) feel more optimistic about connecting with civilians in other contexts. Our findings suggest that veterans working with peer combat veterans and civilians in disaster settings provided a destigmatizing condition whereby combat veterans felt less stigmatized by others and more interpersonally connected with civilians. It is recommended that since the majority of services for veterans come from civilian community providers, it is imperative that providers be sensitive to military culture and experiences of those serving in combat to avoid further stigmatization of veterans

Funding to COEs FY2003-08.xls

Emergency management funding data for VHA researchers based at one of the HSR&D Centers of Excellence from 2003-2008