Michael E Debakey Va Medical Center
The Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center has been affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine since 1949. Today it is one of the VA’s largest hospitals, serving Harris County and 27 surrounding counties.
This state-of-the-art hospital building that features advanced design and technology provides exceptional training opportunities for Baylor College of Medicine students, residents and fellows. Located on a 118-acre campus, the six-story granite building is designed with four exterior sections and four atria that contain patio gardens, wheelchair basketball courts, and a rehabilitation pool.
Veterans from around the country are referred to MEDVAMC for specialized diagnostic care, radiation therapy, surgery, and medical treatment including cardiovascular surgery, ophthalmology, nuclear medicine, and treatment of spinal cord injury and diseases. The majority of physicians at MEDVAMC are Baylor College of Medicine faculty and MEDVAMC serves as a major teaching center for Baylor College of Medicine trainees.
Expanding Veterans Access To Disability Benefits
Secretary McDonough must also work to reduce the VAs massive backlog17 of compensation and pension exams, which a veteran must receive in order to be granted disability benefits. Many exams have been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic: As of March 2021, 357,000 exam requests were pending. This is nearly three times the amount of exams that were pending in February 2020. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office ,18 VA leaders have not yet developed a clear long-term plan to address the issue.
The Department Of Veterans Affairs Served Civilians In Battle Against Covid
With 170 medical centers and 1,074 outpatient clinics, the Department of Veterans Affairs runs the largest integrated health care system in the U.S. Its size, resources, and place within the federal government well position VA for responding to large-scale public health emergencies. While the VAs first priority is to care for veterans and their eligible dependents, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the department was mobilized in a big way to also serve civilians.
Todays WatchBlog explores our new report about the important role of VA as part of the countrys response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this emergency differed from the ones that came before.
VAs role in the federal response to COVID-19
From March 2020 to February 2021, VA conducted 117 COVID-related missions. The majority of these missions provided civilians with inpatient hospital care at VA facilities, or provided staff and other resources to community, or non-VA, medical facilities. These missions were conducted in 38 states, 1 territory and 4 tribal communities. The remaining 13 missions were to assist other federal agencies. The estimated cost of these missions is $270.3 million.
The Geographical Distribution of COVID-19 Assistance by VA from March 2020 to February 2021
The below figure shows the use of VA resources for civilian assistance during the pandemic.
Number and Estimated Costs of VA Assistance to Localities from March 2020 to February 2021
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Addressing The Ballooning Va Budget
The VA budget has grown rapidly and significantly5 since 9/11. In FY 2001, its budget was $40 billion by 2009, President Barack Obamas first year in office and before the full impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was felt, it had risen to $94 billion. The FY 2021 budget that Congress passed in December 2020 allocated a whopping $243 billion to the VAan increase of more than $200 billion, or 500 percent, since 9/11. From FY 2020 to FY 2021 alone, the VA budget increased by 14 percent, an increase higher than that of any other federal agency. As a result, the VA now has the second-largest discretionary budget in the federal government, trailing only the Pentagon. Its budget is greater than the combined budgets of the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Justice, and the entire intelligence community.6
This rapid increase is a result of several factors, including the large cohort of aging Vietnam War veterans and the increase in veterans from all generations using the VA for health care, especially the 4.1 million post-9/11 veterans.10 It is also due to the increasing cost of health care in the United States, the introduction of federal programs such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prioritizing The Women And Lgbtq People Who Serve In The Military
The VA must also prioritize providing women and LGBTQ service members equal access to earned benefits, as well as ending sexual harassment against them. Women are the fastest-growing segment of the veteran population. Since 2000, the number of women in the military has grown from 63,000 to 473,000an increase of 310,000, or almost 300 percent25and the number of women using VA health care has also tripled since then, growing from 160,000 to 475,000.26 Women now represent 16 percent of the current U.S. military force. LGBT personnel, meanwhile, are estimated to make up 6.1 percent27 of service members. A 2020 GAO report28 found that the VAs inconsistent collection of sexual orientation and gender identity data has limited its ability to assess health outcomes for LGBT veterans.
Despite all the indispensable services that women in uniform deliver to America, a great deal of those women have been subject to sexual assault,29 and many have chosen not to reenlist30 as a result. In April 2021, the VA took a step31 in the right direction to improve care for women and LGBTQ veterans, as well as the approximately 25 percent of veterans who are people of color, by committing to review its existing policies with an eye toward making them more inclusiveand designing and implementing more inclusive policies going forward.
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Veteran Affairs Medical Center
The gazebo on the VA grounds
The Veterans Affairs Medical Center is a modern tertiary care facility situated on 204 acres in a beautifully landscaped historic campus. The site has one of the largest variety of trees, plants, and flowers in the area and includes a National Cemetery, a large pond, and over 50 permanent buildings. The facilities include modern buildings which house the hospital and patient care facilities. A new wing that opened in 2002 includes a state-of-the-art autopsy suite and a large, well-equipped study area for the pathology residents. The medical center includes beds in medicine, surgery, alcohol treatment, psychiatry, nursing home care, and a domiciliary. The current hospital was first opened in 1990 and includes 324 beds with 17 ICU beds. A 120-bed Nursing Home Care Unit was opened in 1991. The new Domiciliary, with an operating capacity of 525, was opened in 1992. The Veterans Affairs Medical Center is located adjacent to the Johnson Center Medical Center.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, résumé, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs and other organizations . Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.
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Veterans Affairs Medical Center: Washington D C
- Address50 Irving Street NWWashington, DC 20422
- Phone 745-8000 ext 7212 OIF/OEF Representative
- Phone 745-8000 ext 4999 Suicide Prevention Coordinator
- Phone 745-8345 Women Veterans Health Programs
- Fees:Please contact provider for fee information
- Application Process:Call or visit website for additional information
- Eligibility Requirements:Please call service provider or visit website to learn more about eligibility requirements.
- Payment/Insurance Accepted:Please contact provider for accepted forms of payment.
- ADA Access:Please contact facility for accessibility information.
Blind And Low Vision Rehabilitation
We offer advanced vision care and blind rehabilitation services to help you live independently. These may include vision-enhancing devices and technology as well as visual skills and related training.
Our low vision outpatient clinic can assess your needs and provide a rehab plan tailored to your personal goals. Our team of specialists and social workers will work with you to find the right aids and services. Our clinic services include:
- Comprehensive eye exams
- Guidance on how to develop visual motor and perceptual skills
- Training to help you manage daily activities with your vision loss
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Michael E Debakey Department Of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Our main campus provides primary care and specialty health services, including specialized diagnostic care, radiation therapy, surgery, spinal cord injuries, and more. Below, youll find our address and hours, parking and transportation information, and the other health services we offer at Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center.
- Everyone must wear a mask and practice physical distancing.
- We may screen you for COVID-19 symptoms at the entrance.
- Approved visitors only. Ask your care team who can visit.
- Ask your team about phone or video appointment options.
Check on Mondays for each facilitys latest guidelines.
Use Of Electronic Records
VHA is especially praised for its efforts in developing a low cost open source electronic medical records system VistA which can be accessed remotely by health care providers. With this system, patients and nurses are given bar-coded wristbands, and all medications are bar-coded as well. Nurses are given wands, which they use to scan themselves, the patient, and the medication bottle before dispensing drugs. This helps prevent four of the most common dispensing errors: wrong med, wrong dose, wrong time, and wrong patient. The system, which has been adopted by all veterans’ hospitals and clinics and continuously improved by users, has cut the number of dispensing errors in half at some facilities and saved thousands of lives.
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Physical Therapy Occupational Therapy And Kinesiotherapy
Physical therapy, occupational therapy and kinesiotherapy can help restore movement and function if you have been disabled by injury or disease.
Contact information
Appointments
Contact us to schedule, reschedule, or cancel your appointment. If a referral is required, youll need to contact your primary care provider first.
Phone
Helping Veterans Transition Into Civilian Society
The VA must work more effectively with the Department of Defense to improve the policies and systems that can help military people transition into civilian society. The VA and DOD should work to increase veterans understanding and access to the VAs health care, educational, and housing benefits that are available to them. The departments should also increase awareness of other resources that are available to veterans upon leaving the service to help them reenter civilian life. They can do this through public information campaigns, including making phone calls to newly separated veterans. They should also continue to increase resources that are available for veterans. As Sen. John Tester , the new chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs put it in an interview with Military Times, We do a great job making civilians into warriors. But we dont do as good a job making warriors into civilians.36
Moreover, the VA should quickly crack down on for-profit colleges, many of which exploit the 90/10 loophole37 that allows them to count veterans benefits toward the 10 percent of funding that they must receive from the private sector in order to qualify for federal loans and grants such as the GI Bill. In addition, the VA should cut off GI Bill funding for schools facing legal or punitive actions from the government for using erroneous, deceptive, or misleading ads.
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Which Veterans’ Hospitals Have The Most Staffed Beds
From the table above we can see that Biloxi Medical Center in Mississippi currently has the most staffed beds at 716. Also among the top VA hospitals are Southern Oregon VA Rehabilitation Center, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center and Edward Hines Jr. VA hospital. These facilities are in Oregon, California and Illinois respectively.
Despite many of the top VA hospitals being in the southern or western regions of the U.S., most VA hospitals are clustered in the northeast and Midwest. This likely correlates to the higher population density of veterans in these areas.
Fig 2. Interactive map of VA hospitals in the U.S. Data from Definitive Healthcares Hospitals & IDNs database. Data accurate as of May 2022. Accessed May 2022.
What Are Veterans Affairs Hospitals
While VA hospitals prioritize patients who incur service-related permanent disabilities, these facilities provide a wide range of services common to traditional hospitals. This includes surgery, critical care, pharmacy, therapies, mental health and more.
Like teaching hospitals, certain VA hospitals may dedicate resources to advancing medical research in war-related conditions such as PTSD, traumatic amputations and illnesses related to the Gulf War, among others.
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Secure Reliable Responsive Records Storage And Management Services
VA Records Center and Vault provides short- and long-term records storage and records management services for VA and other Federal government agency customers. Located in a subterranean, climate-controlled facility, RC& V provides storage for general, vital, and unscheduled records as well as records held pending litigation freezes. We are committed to providing our customers with the most secure, reliable, and responsible records storage services available at competitive rates.
Intimate Partner Violence Support
If you feel that you or a loved one are in or may be in a potentially abusive or violent relationship, we can help.
Contact information
Appointments
Contact us to schedule, reschedule, or cancel your appointment. If a referral is required, youll need to contact your primary care provider first.
Phone
Learn more about IPV at VA Houston.
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Atlanta Va Medical Center
The Atlanta VAMC is uniquely positioned to serve the healthcare needs of more than 130,000 enrolled Veterans living in 50 counties across northeast Georgia.
The Atlanta VA Medical Center , located on 26 acres in Decatur, Georgia is one of eight medical centers in the VA Southeast Network serving the men and women who serve or who have served our country. Emory and the Atlanta VAMC share back-to-back campuses and a partnership that stretches back more than six decades. The Atlanta VAMC is a teaching hospital, providing a full range of patient care services complete with state-of-the-art technology, education, and research.
The Atlanta VAMC has 405 authorized beds and is classified as a Complexity Level 1A tertiary care facility. It is a teaching hospital, providing a full range of patient care services complete with state-of-the-art technology, education, and research.
Comprehensive health care is provided through:
- Emergency medicine
Long-term care in the areas of:
Slowing The Privatization Of Veterans Health Care
Secretary McDonough must balance veterans growing use of private health care with spending funds to maintain the VAs medical facilities and slow down health care privatization. The Veterans Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014 and the Mission Act of 201821 relaxed rules that made it difficult for veterans to receive routine or specialty care outside the VA system. Under the current system, veterans can choose to receive routine care from a non-VA doctor if they would have to wait more than 20 days or drive more than 30 minutes for a primary or mental health appointment at a VA facility. For specialty care, the current rules are 20 days and 60 minutes. As a result, Secretary McDonoughs predecessor, Robert Wilkie, encouraged what became a significant increase in the past two years of the Trump administration in patients receiving22 health care through the VAs network of private providers.
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Veterans Integrated Service Networks
Veterans integrated service networks handle the day-to-day functions of VA hospitals. They also provide clinical and administrative support for these facilities. The Veterans Health Administration oversees VISNs and VA hospital performance.
There are 18 VISNs in the United States, with only two representing a single state. Like an integrated delivery network , a VISN is a regional care system. The ultimate goal of a VISN is to meet local care needs and improve population health access.
What Happens After I Enroll
After you enroll, if you are in Category 1 – 7 you will be assigned a primary care provider and an appointment will be made for you to see him or her, typically within 30 days. Your primary care provider will then work with you to find out if other medical programs would help, such as mental health counseling, physical therapy, and polytrauma support .
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Corporal Michael J Crescenz Department Of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Website Locations Leadership Annual Report
The Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center provides health care to Veterans living in Americas fifth-largest metropolitan area, including the city of Philadelphia and six surrounding counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey. The medical center serves as an acute referral center for VA health care facilities in eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and Southern New Jersey.
The facility is staffed by approximately 2,000 employees and supports 145 acute care beds and a 135-bed Community Living Center. The medical center focuses on several mission areas: providing health care, conducting medical research, training health care professionals for the future, and being prepared to serve in the event of a crisis or emergency.
Affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania and numerous other allied health schools and colleges, the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center offers comprehensive surgical, medical and psychiatric care to include special emphasis programs, alcohol and drug dependence treatment, and rehabilitative care.