Veterans Affairs
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As we consider the potential impact of a government shutdown on our veterans, it is imperative that we prioritize bipartisan solutions to prevent such disruptions.
September 25, 2023 -
The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing for a potential government shutdown — drawing up a list of which VA employees would be furloughed during a lapse in appropriations, and which employees would remain on the job.
September 22, 2023 -
September is suicide prevention month, with lots of prevention information coming out of places like the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. A year in, the federally-backed 988 suicide prevention line has received millions of calls. But now we take a moment to celebrate how service dogs can help with the persistent problem of veteran suicide. For details, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin talked with Cole Lyle, the Executive Director of the Veterans Advocate group called, "Mission Role Call."
September 21, 2023 -
The National Artificial Intelligence Institute is developing an approach to bring uniformity across the Veterans Health Administration and its various regions and medical centers.
September 19, 2023 -
VA medical workers feel burnt out putting in longer hours and going through more steps to complete routine tasks using the new Oracle-Cerner EHR.
September 14, 2023 -
The Department of Veterans Affairs' new EHR timeline is frustrating lawmakers, who say the VA has little to show for the project, after five years and billions of dollars going into it.
September 14, 2023 -
The Senate voted 50-46 on Tuesday to confirm VA Chief of Staff Tanya Bradsher to serve as the department’s deputy secretary. Bradsher is the first woman to hold this title at the VA.
September 12, 2023 -
The Veterans Health Administration recently participated, for the first time ever, in an annual survey of hospital quality conducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. VA did well. The survey is known as the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). Starting off with the fact that this was not a VA survey, Federal Drive Host Tom Temin spoke with Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the VA's top medical official.
September 12, 2023 -
The public focus of EHR modernization has been on configuring a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solution that blends all the requirements that are unique to the VA, with a system that is widely used in the commercial sector, and at the same time is able to transmit data with the newly deployed EHR used by the Department of Defense.
September 06, 2023 - VA vows ‘full review’ of website after IT issues impact disability claims for nearly 57,000 veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs discovered technical problems that may have delayed disability claims for tens of thousands of veterans.
September 06, 2023 -
The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) needs talent in all sorts of areas. Needing to fill differing jobs requires differing recruitment practices.
August 23, 2023 -
The Veterans Affairs Department has long had a nationwide network of facilities so it could be close to those it serves. But now it's taking that a step further, with a fleet of mobile medical units on wheels.
August 18, 2023 -
In Washington, it seems like there is a commission for everything. Mostly they produce reports no one reads. But there is one commission that has established a string of permanent accomplishments you can see, touch and feel. It is the American Battle Monuments Commission.
August 14, 2023 -
President Joe Biden has praised leaders from both parties for unifying behind veterans a year ago, when they joined in passing the largest expansion of veterans benefits in decades. The PACT Act is intended to improve health care and disability compensation for exposure to toxic substances, such as burn pits used to dispose of trash on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 348,000 veterans have had their claims approved in the last year. An additional 111,000 who are believed to have toxic exposure have enrolled in health care. The president and Utah's Republic governor, Spencer Cox, joined in Salt Lake City on Thursday to speak about the act on its anniversary.
August 10, 2023 -
The Department of Veterans Affairs is facing an eleventh-hour surge of applications from veterans looking to receive the maximum benefit they qualify for under the toxic-exposure PACT Act.
August 09, 2023