| MANAGEMENT
I. MISSION OVERVIEW:
Sites of Care:
The VA Medical Center, Alexandria,
Louisiana consists of the medical center facility located
on Shreveport Highway, Pineville, Louisiana. The Alexandria
VAMC also has Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) in
Lafayette, Louisiana serving Lafayette Parish and other surrounding
parishes and in Jennings, Louisiana serving Jefferson Davis
Parish and other surrounding parishes.
The VAMC Alexandria is categorized as
a primary and secondary care facility. It is a teaching hospital,
providing a full range of primary care services with state-of-the-art
technology and education. Comprehensive acute and extended health
care is provided on a primary and secondary basis in areas of
medicine, surgery, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation,
neurology, oncology, dentistry, geriatrics, and extended care.
The Medical Center serves a potential veteran population of
over 100,000 veterans and an active patient roster of over 37,000.
The Alexandria, Louisiana VAMC is a part of VA Network 16, South
Central VA Health Care Network, which includes facilities in
Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Southeast Texas,
and Northwest Florida.
Ambulatory Care services are provided in-house and through community-based clinics in Jennings and Lafayette, Louisiana. Surgical (in-patient and ambulatory) and medical services are provided through two wards, 5 operating rooms, a Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, and ICU. Tertiary care services are provided through referrals primarily to VAMC's Shreveport, Jackson, and Houston. The extended care program includes two Nursing Home Care Units, including an 18 bed Alzheimer's Unit with enclosed walking yard. Alexandria is one of three Specialty Referral Facilities in the VISN for acute and intermediate psychiatric care. VAMC Alexandria receives long-term psychiatry referrals from network facilities and VA facilities in bordering states.
Affiliations: VAMC Alexandria has active affiliations with the Tulane University of School of Medicine (with residency programs in preventive medicine and ophthalmology) and LSU Medical School (with residency programs in family medicine, clinical pharmacology, and physician assistants).
Other affiliations include:
Northeast Louisiana University - speech pathology
Northwestern State University - physical therapy, occupational
therapy, and recreation therapy
Louisiana State University - nursing and social work
Our Lady of the Lake University - nursing
Louisiana College - occupational therapy and recreation therapy
Alcorn State University - occupational therapy and recreation
therapy
Alexandria Vo-Tech - occupational therapy and recreation therapy
Louisiana State University (Alexandria) - occupational therapy
and recreation therapy
Grambling State University - associate dietetics program and
recreation therapy
Louisiana Tech University - audiology, psychology, biomedical
engineering, physical therapy, and dietetics
Central Louisiana State Hospital - physical therapy
Xavier University - pharmacy
Southern University - recreation therapy
Tulane University - social work
Construction: Several non-recurring maintenance infrastructure projects have been completed in 2006; they include renovation of the food service preparation area in Building 4, renovation of a MRI/CT Suite, installation of a modular building for the Canteen Retail store and replacement of Chiller # 3. One additional project, the upgrade of our Fire Alarm and Detection System is under construction at this time.
A minor construction project is under way to replace the extended care ward of 38 beds in Building 2. Building 2 is a 1929-vintage structure and has significant structural, mechanical, and environmental problems, which make the building unsuitable for patient care according to contemporary clinical standards. This project will construct a new wing to Building 45, which houses 116 nursing home beds. This project is expected to be completed during the 2nd Quarter of FY 2007.
Labor Relations: The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Local 1972, represents nonprofessional and professional employees at the VAMC Alexandria. The VAMC Alexandria has an established Local Partnership Council consisting of members from management and the local bargaining unit. The Partnership Council meets regularly to discuss and resolve problems and concerns of labor and management.
II. GENERAL INFORMATION
New Initiatives:
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Response
- Because of its central location in the state of Louisiana,
the Alexandria VAMC played a key role in the evacuation and
subsequent logistical support of the New Orleans VAMC after
Hurricane Katrina. In response to Hurricane Rita, the Alexandria
VAMC provided manpower and logistical support to two extended
care facilities that evacuated the Lake Charles area.
Service Recovery - Service Recovery
is used at our facility to improve customer service and is
a critical process in organizations that excel in service
to their customers. It identifies a service failure, effectively
resolves a service problem, classifies its root cause(s),
and yields data that can be integrated with other sources
of performance measurement to assess and improve the service
system. It entails making a person "feel whole" by staff demonstrating
politeness, concern and candor. It is taking a negative experience
and turning in into a positive and memorable one. It is the
"second chance", so it must be done very right the second
time. Service Recovery always relates to service, not quality
of clinical care. The primary person responsible for Service
Recovery is the person who identifies the customer's dissatisfaction
with services received. Each employee can be a part of Service
Recovery, by taking ownership to improve our efforts to make
the veteran's visit just as pleasant as possible.
Home-Based Primary Care - delivers
health care using an interdisciplinary team to housebound or
bed bound patients in their own homes in concert with family
and community support systems. The care rendered includes medical,
nursing, social work, nutrition and rehabilitative services
and is intended to offer chronically ill veterans an alternative
to institutional care.
DIGMA Clinic - Drop In Group Medical Appointments are
used in conjunction with individual office visits and are designed
to provide medical care in a group setting with other patients
with similar medical problems. Care is provided by a multidisciplinary
team is a more relaxed atmosphere in which both mind and body
issues are addressed. Patient/family education and social support
are integral parts of these clinics.
Social Detoxification Residential Treatment Program (SDRT)
- is a program designed to assist the veteran in need of social
detoxification residential treatment for substance abuse and
addiction. The program was designed for veterans seeking treatment
from distant locations. A therapeutic milieu is provided at
the VAMC. The Alexandria VAMC has contracted with a local detoxification
facility that provides a safe therapeutic environment, meals,
and transportation for the veterans enrolled in the VAMC Outpatient
Program.
Homeless Program - A Homeless
Program was initiated in FY2000. Extensive outreach services
are now in place for identification and linkage to services
for homeless veterans. The Alexandria VAMC has co-sponsored
and been the lead planning agency for the central Louisiana
Homeless Stand Down during FY 2004 - 2006.
Community Residential Care (CRC)-
The CRC Program has been instrumental in the community placement
of long-term care psychiatric patients, providing comprehensive
case management services and interventions.
Adult Day Care Program - provides
contract services for veterans in a licensed Adult Day Care
Program for daily stimulation and recreation. ADHC is provided
in a protective setting during part of the day but less than
24-hour care. An emphasis is on helping participants and their
caregivers to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to
manage care requirements in the home. Approximately thirteen
veterans per month utilize the program from two contractual
agencies.
Homemaker/Home Health Aide (H/HHA)
Program - Homemaker/Home Health Aide (H/HHA) Program -
this program was initiated in FY 2000 and provides homemaker/home
health aide visits to eligible veterans using Contract Nursing
Home funds.
Community Nursing Home Care -The
Alexandria VA Medical Center is very involved in community activities.
Our employees support many local charities through holiday food
and toy drives, serving food at a local soup kitchen, clothing
drives, and participating in charitable organizations' fundraisers
such as the annual corporate spelling bee, cooking contests,
and drug awareness activities. Many of our employees take active
roles in Non Profit Organizations as Board of Director and Advisory
Board members. We also maintain a high profile in such community
activities as parades and military appreciation activities.
The Alexandria VA Medical Center participates in the Leadership
Central Louisiana program, sponsored by Louisiana State University
at Alexandria.
In honor of central Louisiana Vietnam veterans, Alexandria VAMC hosted the Vietnam Moving Wall in April 2006. The medical center had approximately 4000 visitors. The opening ceremony including the following speakers: Congressman Rodney Alexander and command staff from the Louisiana National Guard and Fort Polk.
In conjunction with Life Share Blood Center, we have a blood drive on station every 56 days (6-7 blood drives per year). As an organization; we have one of the most successful blood drive programs in Central Louisiana. In 2005 the Alexandria VA Medical Center was awarded the Donor Group of the Year Award from Life Share Blood Center.
The Alexandria VA Medical Center organized the Central Louisiana Healthcare Ethics Coalition (CHEC). The coalition, comprised of 25 healthcare leaders, focuses on healthcare ethics and establishing ethical standards within the community.
Active Issues:
Improve waits and delays problems
- In order to improve our waiting times in both Primary Care
and Specialty Care, we are continually making efforts to recruit
new physicians and other providers and to restructure clinics
and workload. We have experienced a dramatic reduction in
waiting times but we still have work to do.
Improving access to care by opening
the Lafayette CBOC - The Lafayette CBOC relocated to permanent
clinic site in December, 2003 and has experienced a considerable
increase in workload. We are currently in the process of expanding
into vacant space contiguous to our clinic for additional
primary care teams and expanded mental health services.
Upgrading technology in Imaging
to provide enhanced diagnostic services - The Network
has approved and funded the purchase and installation of an
MRI suite in our Imaging department. A replacement CT Scanner
has also been purchased and is being installed this fiscal
year.
Congressional Issues:
Approval of the CARES National Plan has generated increased congressional interest in the relocation of the Jennings Community Based Outpatient Clinic to Lake Charles. We also continue to receive numerous Congressional inquiries from veterans regarding the suspension of enrollment for Priority Group 8. There is also much congressional interest in services for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans and our collaboration with DOD to provide outreach to the returning troops.
VA-DoD and Other Sharing Issues:
This facility is a secondary support center within the VA/DOD contingency hospital system. It is also an installation support center for Fort Polk Army Base.
To support the seamless transition of combat veterans to civilian life the Medical Center is actively involved in Demobilization Briefings at Fort Polk. Staff members attend as many as four briefings a week to provide Medical Center/VA Benefits information to returning soldiers.
This Medical Center has established
a VA/DOD Sharing Agreement with Baynes-Jones Army Community
Hospital (BJACH) at Fort Polk and Camp Beauregard in Pineville
for laundry and linen services and an agreement with the Louisiana
National Guard to provide dental care to guard members.
Alexandria actively maintains sharing agreements within its network by providing consolidated laundry services and the use of 47 nursing home beds to the Shreveport VA Medical Center.
CARES:
Members of the Congressional delegation, veterans' service organizations, employees, media, and other stakeholders have been kept up to date on the status of the CARES plan. Approval of the CARES National Plan has generated increased congressional and stakeholder interest. The plan will enhance access to primary care services by opening new community-based outpatient clinics in the Leesville, Lake Charles, and Natchitoches areas.
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