VA’s second annual Customer Experience (CX) Symposium, held Sept. 13-14, 2023, brought together more than 2,500 industry experts and leaders nationwide. They exchanged best CX practices and tools, and shared success stories and lessons learned from implementing CX practices featured at last year’s symposium.
“It Starts with Me,” VA’s theme for 2023, emphasizes the critical nature of every VA employee’s efforts and personal, individual responsibility to build trusted, lifelong relationships with those we serve.
VA Secretary Dennis McDonough and senior VA leaders recognized employees, volunteers and facilities for embodying “It Starts with Me” in customer experience, employee experience and trust.
CX Symposium 2023 Award Winners
Each award recognized VA employees, volunteers and facilities for their hard work and dedication to providing an exceptional customer experience. We congratulate the following award winners. Please find the complete list of CX award winners at CX Symposium 2023 Award Winners.
Secretary’s Honor Award for ICARE
- Inbound Operations Branch at the Board on the Paper File Team: Addie Sereal, Alexis Harton, Charde Pollitt, Charles Storks, Cyrus Leland, Ernest Asante, Jonathan Bland, Lashuna Cooper, Mardo Nunez, Regina (Lisa) Kirk, Terri Henderson, Terrell Williams and Ytica Mondor, Board of Veterans Appeals
- Shawn Buermann, account manager, Veterans Benefits Administration
- Dr. Joel Elzweig, section chief of Hospital Medicine; Anita (Nicki) Escott, physician assistant, Intensive Care Unit and Interventional Radiology; and Justin Joslin, registered nurse, VA White River Junction Health Care System
- Administration and Interment Staff: Andrew Line, Craig Arsell, Carlos Candelario, David Childers, Francisco Jimenez, Insu Paek, Jonathan Ramirez Colato, Keith Allen, Keya Causey, Kyle Shook, Michaelangelo Maamo, Maria Ramirez, Miguel Rodriguez, Michael Serrano, Oliver Villalobos, Reginald Flexen, Robert Mandeville, Sadera Arrington, Steven Lopez, Terrance Grayson, William Stewart and Adolpho Angulo, Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, CA
- Cordell Smith, deputy director of Acquisition Policy, VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
- Nathan W. Tierney, deputy chief information officer and chief people officer, Office of Information and Technology
Learn more about VA’s I CARE Award program and nominate VA employees at https://www.va.gov/icare/in-action.
Volunteer of the Year
- Barbara Brown, Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center
Own the Moment
- Bill Barksdale, VBA Roanoke Regional Office
- Robert Belcher, Massachusetts National Cemetery
- Sal Ambriz, Board of Veterans Appeals
- Mark Davis and Colleen Drake, Buffalo, New York Vet Center
- Dr. Erika Knox, Alvin C. York VA Medical Center, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Red Coat Ambassador of the Year
- Witt Cook, Nashville, Tennessee Vet Center
- Stephen Hood, Martinsburg VA Medical Center, Martinsburg, West Virginia
CX Innovation Awards
The CX Innovation Award recognizes employees for their innovation and enhancement of the delivery of experiences above expectations. Visit CX Symposium 2023 Award Winners for the complete list of winners.
Exceptional Experience
The Exceptional Experience awards span several categories, including Best Experience, Most Improved, and Service Recovery. Visit CX Symposium 2023 Award Winners for the complete list of winners.
Veterans Health Administration
- Best Overall Experience – Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center, Iron Mountain, Michigan
- Best Experience Facility Complexity Level 1 – Charles George VA Medical Center, Asheville, North Carolina
- Best Experience Facility Complexity Level 2 – Lebanon VA Medical Center, Lebanon, Pennsylvania
- Best Experience Facility Complexity Level 3 – Erie VA Medical Center, Erie, Pennsylvania
- Most Improved Inpatient Experience – Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, Spokane, Washington
- Most Improved Outpatient Experience – W.G. (Bill) Hefner Salisbury Medical Center, Salisbury, North Carolina
Veterans Benefits Administration
- Best VBA Customer Experience – Office of Administrative Review
Vet Center
- Excellence in Customer Experience – Lexington Vet Center, Lexington, Kentucky
National Cemetery Administration
- Highest Performing National Cemetery – Fayetteville National Cemetery, Fayetteville, Arkansas
For more information on VA Customer Experience or the VA Veterans Experience Office, visit https://department.va.gov/veterans-experience.
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VA remains open for business and is closely monitoring the Change Healthcare (CHC) cybersecurity incident.
VA’s Veteran Buddy Check Week is planned for Oct. 21 – 25, 2024.
Carry The Load, an organization dedicated to remembering the fallen, will visit 34 VA National Cemeteries traveling 20,000 miles along five separate routes covering all continental 48 states known as the National Relay for Memorial May 2024.
Not all veterans are Pride veterans we are just veterans and the sooner you believe that the better we will be we will be. United again and not separated by a group of pride.. JUST VETERANS.
TAKE YOUR BANNERS DOWN!,
How much did they pay to comission this study? Yes, customer service is generally excellent but far unlike care by providers! FAR too understaffed! Huge square footage but mostly empty! DESPERATELY need to REDUCE voicemail, CALL CENTERS , EMPLYMENT of computer folks tech support and MARKETING! THE country needs to adress changes in medical education bottom line; how many are even aware active duty facilities are actually OUTSOURCING PROVIDER CARE!
The Veterans Benefits Administration’s motto of “Deny, Deny Until They Die” should replace Abraham Lincoln’s quote on all VA buildings.
The VA here in Phoenix sucks! I am a 100% disabled Marine. I got that way when I was flat lined at the Phx VA hospital during a minimally invasive, minimal risk test procedure. I am fortunate in that the state of Az has awarded me Medicaid. There’s a copay but I can get treatment! I recently needed an eyeglass prescription. I tried for two weeks to get an appt. I gave up and paid for it myself. My vision is impaired by overhanging eyelids. This can be easily corrected. I can’t get an appt.! I could go on for hours.
Instead of pouring all that effort into a functioning east coast
VA system, come out here to places like the middle plains
where its at its worst.
VISN 17 has become hostile, and directors are cowards hiding
from the veterans they insult.
With VA removing Walk-in services your lucky to be seen a little
twice a year. Triwest doesnt pay its bills, so going to a civilian
ER is out. Staff are burned out from attrition and indifferent
management. You dont feel welcome at a near empty lobby
like the Waco VAMC. Good luck finding any baseline for your
medical labs. Imaging isnt much help here, they think just about
everything is normal until its too late. There favorite word:
Unremarkable.
Ive seen how the Secretary of VA Denis McDonough handles
complaints out here. His staff attack the wrong people, and
try to run off people who speak up or care. Then I get angry
phone calls from these folks asking why I set the Sec of VA
on them? I didnt. Talk about misdirection.
Texas is in trouble, and it needs some kind of objective help the
OIG seems incapable of. Congress abandoned us. Local VSO’s
throw there hands up. Its really messed up here. Other wise I
would not have gone to DC in September and face VA, Sec of VA,
and advisory committee to plead my case to deaf ears. Even
folks like Sen. Bernie Sanders thumbed there noses.
At least we have one thing in our favor, OIF vets enter VA, and they
look out for there own. The one saving grace in Texas. They keep
places like the Temple VAMC from getting much worse. No thanks
to that director. Real jerk.
Attrition is one thing, backing up folks who care is another. Texas
is burned out, and these folks including the VA police are tired
of having there throats cut by Triwest. No loyalty given to them,
so none left for others.
Stop telling me how great VA is else where, fix it here in VISN 17.
Where sympathy is frowned on. Compassion has a dollar symbol.
Loyalty, dont ask. Save the folks in the trenches, and clean out the
executives who lost touch. Its so damn insincere here thanks to
Public Affairs covering for bad management.