Last month in Tulsa, Oklahoma, VA’s National Academic Affiliations Council met at the Ernest K. Childers VA Outpatient Clinic to further advance the largest public-private partnership in VA’s history, harnessing many of its diverse partnerships to meet their goals.
The 14-member council meets quarterly to create recommendations and advise VA leadership on matters affecting relationships between VA and the health professions community.
Participants included VA offices, the Indian Health Service, Oklahoma State University and Cherokee Nation.
Dr. James Hildreth, Meharry Medical College president and chairman of the council, spoke of the importance of enhancing partnerships to accomplish the council’s mission.
“This council meeting was of particular significance as we joined with many different organizations to better our partnerships with academic affiliates and reshape the VA health care system for continued excellence. I enjoyed the collaborative effort and look forward to seeing policy enhancements based on the council’s recommendations,” Hildreth said.
As part of the meeting, council members received tours of the Oklahoma State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation, W.W. Hastings Hospital and the Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The tours highlighted the importance of various organizations such as VA, academic affiliates and local communities working together to better health care practices.
Office Of Academic Affiliations Chief Academic Affiliations Officer Dr. Marjorie Bowman spoke of the incredible work that comes from the council collaborations. “It’s all about asking, ‘How can we make a difference for Veterans and for the country?’ This meeting was truly rejuvenating in bringing us back to our core mission of making and strengthening those academic partnerships to better health care in our nation,” Bowman said.
The mission of training future health professionals for VA and the nation, established more than 75 years ago, is one of VA’s four statutory missions. Nearly 70% of all U.S. physicians complete training in a VA facility, and more than 118,000 health professions trainees in over 60 clinical disciplines train at VA each year as they care for Veterans.
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I am a health care provider (PA) and receive care at my local VA. I have been consistently impressed with the quality of the physicians and PAs I see there. No issues with referrals, chiropractic, podiaty, pharmacy. As a clinically practicing PA, believe me, I am very exacting about who I see and how I’m treated.
I have been to VA medical facilities around the US. It has major systemic problems without a doubt. Security of records is lax(computers hacked for patient info multiple times). Bonuses are given for not treating veterans. All these politicians meet with staff and not patients. Not being able to sue doctors who are incompetent is non existent. Because of that the VA attracts the bottom dwellers of the medical profession because here there are no consequences. Visually impaired (blind) can’t get services unless they are recommended by an eye clinic doctor each time even when it is a neurological problem in the brain
The blind which used to be able to communicate through the 2 VA Blind centers were cut off because the VA decided it was against the privacy act.(idiots). Most of the VA hospitals couldn’t diagnose their way out of a wet paper bag.
I don’t doubt your feelings or experiences, but if 70% of all physicians train and provide care at VA facilities I don’t think they’d be the bottom dwellers you claim they are.
I have consistently gotten the best care in my life from the Dallas VA center. I’m not a lucky person, so it has to be more than me drawing the best every time.
Perhaps they misdiagnosed you, but two departments caught, and quickly responded to medical issues hidden in me. If they hadn’t there’s a hood chance I would be blind or dead now.
That’s great news! 70% of physicians, but I would bet that the percentage for nurses is much lower. I would love to see the VA increase it’s training and recruitment of nurses.
Very Good News for ALL.
From personal experience I have been treated by some of the very finest doctors, psychiatrists, dentists, etc., I have also experienced some who never should have been issued a license to treat human beings.