Two VA Gulf Coast employees advance in VHA Innovators Network

The VHA Innovators Network (iNET) reselected projects submitted by employees of the VA Gulf Coast Healthcare System to advance as part of iNET’s innovation investment program.

The two projects are a program to allow the transfer of near-expiring surgical implants and supplies to other VA facilities in need to aid partly to decrease waste; and a prototype for a wheelchair kiosk that provides decontamination and inventory management features.

iNET’s Spark-Seed-Spread Innovation Investment Program is designed to employ a diverse range of practices using innovation to deliver a better experience for Veterans, their caregivers and VA employees. VA Gulf Coast in Mississippi is one of 37 VHA iNet sites nationwide.

iNET was launched in 2015 to build and empower a community of VHA front-line employees who actively move the organization forward through innovation. The iNET-sponsored Spark-Seed-Spread Innovation Investment Program serves as a tool to empower employees, providing an avenue to identify and accelerate employee-designed innovations that improve experiences for Veterans and employees. Programs selected under the iNET Spark-Seed-Spread program are categorized as Spark Challenge (defining a problem), Spark Idea (developing a prototype), Seed (implementing a pilot) or Spread (implementing a multi-site pilot).

Chosen by iNET facility leadership and national subject matter experts, teams not only receive resources to advance their innovative solution to reality but will go through the Spark-Seed-Spread Innovation Accelerator Program. Run as a business start-up, the accelerator will provide resources and training to operationalize its early-stage innovations. These resources include human-centered design training, lean start-up education, pitching, design and lessons in storytelling. The two innovators shared their FY22 Spark Idea Investment stories last year at the national 2022 VHA Innovators Experience (iEX) Conference.

The eBay for VA

Shanna Jenkins, the Gulf Coast VA Implant Coordinator, is creating the VHA Inventory Exchange Program. Jenkins considers her program “The eBay for VA.” During her Spark Idea Investment last year, Jenkins collaborated with the VA Office of Information and Technology (OIT) to gain expertise, knowledge and feedback to create a mock website with open-source software for her program.

Jenkins, along with Gulf Coast VA Innovation Specialist Elizabeth Williams, worked to present the prototype to VA groups to garner further support for design and configuration. They successfully identified a team of collaborators from the national OIT office to facilitate the design and configuration of the VHA Inventory Exchange Program. The items that will initially be exchanged are surgical implants and supplies. Decreasing the number of surgical implants that expire yearly has been an ongoing issue in many VA facilities. This program will also be able to collect data on the number of products exchanged between facilities and the cost savings at each VA medical center.

The other Gulf Coast investee is Kristin Mate, an infection control registered nurse. She is creating a prototype for a Veteran Integrated Chair Kiosk (VICK). The kiosk will decontaminate and provide an inventory of facility wheelchairs. The kiosk will also alert patient safety if any operation issues occur to take the wheelchair out of circulation. Last year, during Mate’s Spark Idea Investment, she partnered with California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) School of Engineering students to develop a functioning prototype.

Virtual series dedicated to helping employees

For the FY23 Seed Investment, Mate partnered with the highly esteemed Richmond VA Design Lab to help pilot a second iteration prototype. The wheelchair kiosk prototype includes ultraviolet disinfection use for decontamination of the wheelchairs, radio frequency identification to track the wheelchairs while on campus, cataloging of the wheelchairs for notifications to be sent when replacement or repair is needed, and safety measures to protect staff and Veterans.

If you are a VA employee or Veteran wanting to learn more about the VHA Innovator Network and developing an idea, check out the Incubator. It’s a six-week virtual series dedicated to helping employees learn important processes through human-center design and three-box solutions to create successful innovative programs and prototypes.

Learn more on the VHA Innovators Network website.