Bay Pines VA’s Veteran Experience Officer Amy Whitaker understands why her father, a Marine Corps Veteran, never wanted to elaborate on his time in Vietnam. However, he did share his thoughts about life. Those words of wisdom often centered around the importance of serving those who served, sentiments she can recall clearly.
“My father always stressed that every Veteran should be treated with respect. The most important aspect of a Veteran’s experience is our collective effort to reinforce that every Veteran is valued and respected,” Whitaker said. “The most rewarding part of my responsibilities at the Veteran Experience Office is helping Veterans navigate the health care system. Our team bridges gaps in understanding, access and resolution. Being able to work with Veterans and get them what they need is a rewarding experience for Veterans and our team.”
Three goals to enhance Veteran experience
Whitaker has been part of VA since 2012, joining Bay Pines VA last May. As part of her responsibilities, she champions the Veteran experience for more than 120,000 Veterans.
“We are always looking for ways to enhance the Veteran experience,” she said. “This year, we have three goals: Improve the overall rating of the hospital, improve overall satisfaction with primary care and improve the outpatient trust score.”
The first goal focuses on the inpatient experience. Bay Pines VA routinely sends surveys to a random sampling of Veterans. These responses are used to determine how well Bay Pines VA is doing at providing quality care. The rating reflects Veterans’ responses to the question: How would you rate this hospital stay?
The second goal, overall satisfaction, focuses on the entire experience of primary care. Bay Pines VA’s provider-scores continue to rate very high based on Veterans’ feedback.
Bay Pines VA consistently scores 90% in Veteran trust
Whitaker is consistently reviewing and analyzing feedback from Veterans to learn more about areas where the health care system can improve. One of those areas is the patient trust score, where Bay Pines VA consistently scores 90% or higher.
“This tells us Veterans feel confident in the care, follow-through, and treatment they receive at Bay Pines. Having a high trust score shows our employees are making the Veteran experience a priority,” she said.
Whitaker acknowledges the work the 5,000 Bay Pines VA employees do each day; that work underscores the commitment that those who work with Veterans also helps them gain a deeper understanding of the services VA provides and the issues it resolves with their care.
“The Veteran experience team is extremely skilled,” she reiterated. “They’re patient, thorough, great active listeners, collaborate well with multiple services across the facility, knowledgeable about our services and skilled at conflict resolution.”
So far in fiscal year 2023, her team has handled an average of 650 calls per month. The team was able to successfully address many Veterans’ concerns and also received quite a few compliments. “We welcome feedback—positive, constructive or otherwise. We’re here to serve those who have served us and we appreciate all interactions because it always adds value toward our goal of exceeding the expectations of America’s heroes and their loved ones.”
To read more Veteran Experience stories, visit VA News and Information.
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Respecting our Veterans is essential and greatly appreciated. What is even better is when the VA actually pays the disabled veterans. More ‘laws’ and ‘acts’, such as the PACT Act are benign and actually insulting when it just adds another layer to the ‘Hoops & Yo-Yo’s’ required by the disabled veterans. Agent Orange has been mandated by law for quite some time, yet, Claims continue to be denied and not processed for the Veterans’ benefit. It is such a shame to be so DISRESPECTFUL to the very people who have suffered serving our country. A football player that had a heart-attack on the field got immediate attention as well as a go-fund me page with donations. Yet, the VA sends our disabled to the streets and causes even more serious long-term issues. So, please…. Start respecting our Veterans by immediately paying their claims.