I have visited the Hampton VA Medical Center, which offers healthcare services to the veterans and their families. The medical center is located among the largest military retiree communities in the US. It offers a comprehensive primary and specialty care in medicine, surgery, and psychiatry to the people in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. The hospital also opened a women’s’ clinic to provide better healthcare assistance to women in the area. Besides, the hospital offers outpatient services to the community in clinics situated in Chesapeake, Elizabeth city, and Virginia Beach (Hampton VA Medical Center, 2018).
Mission Statement
The mission statement of the medical center is “honoring America’s veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and wellbeing” (Hampton VA Medical Center, 2018). The hospital meets this mission through the recruitment of qualified staff to offer medical help. The health facility is a leader in technology and innovation, which has helped in the provision of better services to the veterans. The medical center also opened a new clinic that offers health assistance to the women to help improve their well-being (Huebner et al., 2016).
Policies and Procedures
Hampton VA Medical Center has put in place some policies and procedures that need to be followed by patients and staff members. One of the policies stipulated for the patients to receive health care is to ensure that they enroll for VA health care firstly. The enrollment process is done through the filling of online application form, by mail, and finally, by joining in person at the hospital. This process ensures that one is eligible for the care and helps determine the people who are qualified for the healthcare through analysis of some factors like the length of service, the nature of the veteran's discharge from the military service, and VA service-connected disabilities. The person must follow this process to receive healthcare. The second policy set by the hospital is that people are placed in enrollment priority groups. The factors considered for the assignment into these groups are the service-connected disability and the level of income. There are eight priority groups, and those in groups seven and eight do not have connected service disabilities. Patients assigned to group eight are not eligible for enrollment service and healthcare for their conditions (Hampton VA Medical Center, 2018). The medical center has also put in place policies on co-pays and charges to the veterans. The policy states that monthly premiums are not required to receive the healthcare services (Hampton VA Medical Center, 2018). People can make co-payments depending on their priority groups and their level of income. Private insurance covers can be used to cover bills for non-service connected conditions. Patients have to provide information about their health insurance coverage. However, those with service-related disability and injuries are treated at no cost. The other policy involves the privacy of the patient’s health information, which should be protected from unauthorized persons. The patient’s consent is required for any person to receive their health records. There is a policy that also ensures that the caregivers collaborate with the family members in the provision of care to the patients.
Client Base
Most people served by the VA Medical Center in Hampton are veterans who are categorized into various special groups such as combat veterans and their families, homeless veterans, returning service members, ruralveterans, senior and aging veterans, volunteers, and women veterans. These groups offer health care assistance by the medical facility. However, the hospital also provides community-based healthcare to the people at different clinics, such as the Virginia Beach clinic and the Chesapeake clinic.
Client Needs
The United States’ veterans are multifaceted and can be termed as a population and a culture. This population is unique; hence, it has different medical needs, which should be addressed by the VA Medical Center. One of the requirements of this group is the behavioral adjustment or mental health, which is developed due to substance abuse that is associated with suicide risk. The caregivers need to identify this problem and treat it to help reduce the suicide possibility. The other medical need of this group is rehabilitation care, which is supposed to help people reenter the civilian life (Cozza, 2016). This can be done through the provision of vocation programs and therapies to help them integrate well. Most of the veterans are homeless and face difficulties with substance abuse, unemployment, and mental illness. This becomes difficult for them and adds to the militarily related factors, which aggravate their situation.
Service Delivery and Goals
There is good service delivery in the VA Medical Center as most of the clients are satisfied. There is also an increased transparency and accountability as patients access their data online, which improved the delivery of healthcare. The medical center has enhanced on the efficiency of delivering healthcare using upgraded technology and trained staff, because the patient's data can easily be accessed by all the doctors involved in giving care to the patient. The hospital has embraced the research, which is essential in the healthcare sector. According to Cozza (2016), research has helped the medical practitioners to use evidence-based practice in delivering healthcare, which has improved the outcomes of the patients. The hospital has established various service delivery goals such as ending the claims backlog, which is done by ensuring efficiency in the claims department. The medical center also aims at reducing the number of homeless through the “homeless veteran’s initiative” that aims at providing homes to these people. Finally, the hospital seeks to increase patient safety and to reduce prescription drug abuse among patients.
Evaluation of the Program
The program’s evaluation is necessary because of the critical role it plays in the country by honoring men and women who offer their services to keep Americans safe. The program is significant as it helps the veterans and their families live a normal life. In addition, it is crucial as it helps them integrate into the society, as they become civilians. Besides, the program is important as it provides medical care to help these persons overcome combat fatigue and depression. The program also helps them build their homes and lead a better life as a way of appreciation for their services (Huebner et al.2009).
Critique: Service Delivery
The delivery of healthcare services is yet to be efficient as most of the veterans wait for long hours to access this medical facility. This is due to insufficient resources and infrastructure to cater to all of them. Some have to seek assistance in the private sector, which can be expensive. The service delivery needs an improvement to help in the promotion of patients’ safety in the hospitals to help prevent misdiagnosis (Huebner et al.2009). There is an increased claim backlog in this program, which indicates that the service delivery is not excellent. Although, patients are yet to access their information with ease using the technology in the medical center, which shows that there is a need for improvement in service delivery.
Program Effectiveness
The program is essential in the society; however, it is not very effective as most of the customers still commit suicide due to mental illness and depression obtained from the military service. Some of the patients are still homeless, although the program's mission is to ensure they all get homes, which shows a level of ineffectiveness (Davidson, 2016). Some find it hard to integrate with the civilians long after they are out of military service, which also questions the effectiveness of the program. Most of the veterans have not been able to access healthcare in this facility due to the large numbers of patients and long waiting. They can only receive help if the disability is related to military services, which marginalize the rest in the group.
Conclusion
The VA Medical Center in Hampton is essential as it helps the veterans and their families get quality health care. The service delivery is satisfying, though some adjustments need to be done to ensure all of the operations are efficient. The veterans should be provided with proper care and be helped to integrate with the civilians.
References
Cozza, S. J., Goldenberg, M. N., " Ursano, R. J. (Eds.). (2014). Care of military servicemembers, veterans, and their families. American Psychiatric Pub.
Davidson, L. C. (2016). Urban Planning and Housing: An Assessment of Fair Housing Laws Providing Protective Status to Veterans (Doctoral dissertation).
Huebner, A. J., Mancini, J. A., Bowen, G. L., " Orthner, D. K. (2009). Shadowed by war: Building community capacity to support military families. Family Relations, 58(2), 216-228.
Hampton VA Medical Center (2018). US Department of Veterans. Retrieved from https:www.hampton.va.gov/about/index.asap
