Advanced search Help
Searching for terms: EXACT: "United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General" in: publisher
Clear all search criteria
Only 2/3! You are seeing results from the Public Collection, not the complete Full Collection. Sign in to search everything (see eligibility).
-
Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General: Audit of VA's Response to Hurricane Katrina
"On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck areas of the Gulf Coast, causing widespread damage over 90,000 square miles located in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi with Category 3 winds and torrential rains. [...]. The hurricane directly impacted the VA Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System in New Orleans, LA; the VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System in Gulfport, MS; five community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) along the Gulf Coast; the New Orleans Regional Office; and the Biloxi VA National Cemetery. [...]. Our oversight responsibilities included determining whether actions taken by VA in response to Hurricane Katrina fulfilled its requirements as outlined in the National Response Plan (NRP) and VA's emergency preparedness plans. The NRP establishes a single, comprehensive framework for managing domestic incidents across all levels of government. [...]. The Acting Assistant Secretary for OSP [Operations, Security, and Preparedness]agreed with the recommendations in the report and provided acceptable implementation plans. [...]. He reported the Office of OSP is in the process of developing: (1) a definition of habitable housing; (2) timeliness criteria and mechanisms to periodically test whether making transitional housing available to victims is effective, expedited, and efficient; (3) mechanisms to continuously maintain a list of habitable housing; (4) criteria to determine which properties VA makes available during disasters and when the properties are to be placed back on the market; and (5) oversight mechanisms to ensure housing support is provided in the event of disasters."
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General
2007-09-28
-
Veterans Health Administration: Review of Alleged Patient Deaths, Patient Wait Times, and Scheduling Practices at the Phoenix VA Health Care System
From the Executive Summary: "The VA [Veterans Affairs] Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed allegations at the Phoenix VA Health Care System (PVAHCS) that included gross mismanagement of VA resources, criminal misconduct by VA senior hospital leadership, systemic patient safety issues, and possible wrongful deaths. We initiated this review in response to allegations first reported to the VA OIG Hotline. We expanded our work at the request of the former VA Secretary and the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs (HVAC) following an HVAC hearing on April 9, 2014, on delays in VA medical care and preventable veteran deaths. Since receiving those requests, we have received other Congressional requests including those submitted by the Chair and Ranking Members of the following Committees and Subcommittees. […] On May 28, 2014, we published a preliminary report, Review of Patient Wait Times, Scheduling Practices, and Alleged Patient Deaths at the Phoenix Health Care System -- Interim Report, to ensure all veterans received appropriate care and to provide VA leadership with recommendations for immediate implementation. This report updates the information previously provided in the Interim Report to reflect the final results of our review. We focused this report on the following five questions and identified serious conditions at the PVAHCS and throughout the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). 1) Were there clinically significant delays in care?; 2) Did PVAHCS omit the names of veterans waiting for care from its Electronic Wait List (EWL)?; 3) Were PVAHCS personnel following established scheduling procedures?; 4) Did the PVAHCS culture emphasize goals at the expense of patient care?; and 5) Are scheduling deficiencies systemic throughout VHA?"
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General
2014-08-26
-
Veterans Health Administration - Interim Report: Review of Patient Wait Times, Scheduling Practices, and Alleged Patient Deaths at the Phoenix Health Care System
"This interim report provides an overview of our ongoing review at the Phoenix Health Care System (HCS), identifies the allegations we have substantiated to date, and provides recommendations that VA [Department of Veterans Affairs] should implement immediately. Allegations at the Phoenix HCS include gross mismanagement of VA resources and criminal misconduct by VA senior hospital leadership, creating systemic patient safety issues and possible wrongful deaths. While our work is not complete, we have substantiated that significant delays in access to care negatively impacted the quality of care at this medical facility. The issues identified in current allegations are not new. Since 2005, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued 18 reports that identified, at both the national and local levels, deficiencies in scheduling resulting in lengthy waiting times and the negative impact on patient care. As required by the Inspector General Act of 1978, each of the reports listed was issued to the VA Secretary and the Congress and is publicly available on the VA OIG website. These reports are identified in Appendix D."
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General
2014-05-28
-
Emergency Preparedness in Veterans Health Administration Facilities
"The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review of the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) Emergency Preparedness program to determine whether VHA facilities had comprehensive, effective emergency preparedness programs; employees had appropriate emergency preparedness training; and VHA buildings' heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems complied with National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) guidelines. After the events of September 11, 2001, leaders in government acknowledged the need for a unified approach to managing potential terrorist threats. Public Law 107-188, Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, is 'an Act to improve the ability of the United States to prevent, prepare for, and respond to bio-terrorism and other public health emergencies.' This law mandated that the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office (VA) and VHA medical facilities participate in the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS); work in collaboration with the States and other public or private entities to provide health services and health-related social services; and respond to the needs of victims of a public health emergency."
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General
2006-01-06
-
Combined Assessment Program Summary Report: Management of Disruptive and Violent Behavior in Veterans Health Administration Facilities
"The VA [Veterans Affairs] Office of Inspector General completed a healthcare inspection of the management of disruptive and violent behavior in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities. The purpose of the inspection was to evaluate facility compliance with selected VHA requirements. VHA's leaders have stated that they are committed to reducing and preventing disruptive and violent behaviors through the development of policies aimed at patient, visitor, and employee safety."
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General
2018-01-30
-
OIG Inspection of Veterans Health Administration's COVID-19 Screening Processes and Pandemic Readiness, March 19-24, 2020
From the Document: "On March 11, 2020, due to the 'alarming levels of spread and severity' of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the World Health Organization declared a pandemic. Within two days, screening processes were implemented to assess veterans' and visitors' infection status at all Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities. [...] Approximately one week after screening was initiated at all VHA facilities, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an inspection to evaluate expeditiously the process (including access to community living centers) and to meet with VHA medical facility leaders to collect data on preparations for an expected dramatic increase in patients with illnesses related to COVID-19. The unannounced visits to facilities were planned to minimize exposure and potential transmission of the novel coronavirus for both VA and OIG personnel as well as patients and visitors. Every effort was made to ensure that the visits were not disruptive to facility activities or distracting from COVID-19 responses. The goal was to complete unobtrusive but effective oversight of screening and pandemic preparedness to glean critical information of immediate use to VA leaders at every level as they respond to the needs of veterans, their families, and other stakeholders."
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General
2020-03-26
-
Veterans Crisis Line Challenges, Contingency Plans, and Successes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
From the Executive Summary: "The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is conducting a series of reviews focusing on the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) management of key clinical areas during the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic that are crucial to the well-being of veterans. This review focused on select Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) operations ranging from contingency planning to quality metrics and lessons learned. The VCL is organizationally aligned under the VHA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and operates 24 hours per day and 7 days per week, with call centers in Canandaigua, New York; Atlanta, Georgia; and Topeka, Kansas. [...] As COVID-19 evolved, many Americans, including veterans, experienced a range of negative effects from fear and social isolation to unemployment and financial insolvency. Because of these and other stressors associated with the pandemic, an increase in the volume of incoming VCL calls, chats, and texts was expected. [...] Overall, VCL leaders repeatedly expressed that although initially reluctant, the transition to telework had improved staff morale and decreased unplanned leave usage, as well as positioned the VCL to recruit additional staff and enhance future services operations. The OIG was impressed with VCL leaders' and employees' efforts to promote employee health safety and ensure that the VCL met its mission to provide immediate access to crisis intervention services during the COVID-19 pandemic."
United States. Department of Veterans Affairs. Office of Inspector General
2020-10-28
1
