The iEX Demos Celebrate Employee-Driven Innovation at VA

At the celebratory 2021 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Innovation Experience (iEX) Virtual Series event, iEX Demos provided VHA employees a platform to share their experiences designing and implementing innovations, and the notable impact of their practices on Veterans across the country. This year, demos from the VHA Innovators Network (iNET), the VHA IE and Founder Institute Breaking Boundaries Collaboration Challenge, and the VA Center for Care and Payment Innovation (CCPI) were presented for an insightful iEX experience. Dive in to each iEX Demo videos below and discover innovation from across VHA that is impacting Veteran lives right now.

Day 1 & 2 Demos: Breakout Room 1

Moderated by Allison Amrhein, MPH, Director of Operations, iNET, Demo presentations in Breakout Room 1 addressed unique challenges in Veteran health care.

You can uncover a wide variety of Demos from Day 1 in Breakout Room 1 that range from VA Clinical Dietitian Emily Hood’s presentation on improving food relationships using mindfulness to Charles Franklin’s project utilizing Ridesharing services to improve access within VHA Homeless programs, to Deborah Anguish’s ‘Just Breathe’ demonstration of a reusable mask for sufficient advanced respiratory protection (ARP).

Listen to Day 2 Demos from Breakout Room 1 and discover the innovative VHA projects, such as Smart White Cane, a prototype addressing the problem of safe, independent navigation for those who are blind or visually impaired presented by Brian Higgins; Operation Peace, offering distance Reiki as a tool for depression to Veterans and employees in a virtual group setting presented by Carolyn Gartner; and One Card That’s All, a smart business card that provides contactless information transfer to smartphones, presented by Indra Sandal. The value we see each of these innovations bringing to VA is immense.

Day 1 & 2 Breakout Room 2

Join Breakout Room 2 Moderator Kathryn Beckner, Innovation program coordinator at the Central Virginia VA Health Care System, who represents iNET and the local innovation program at her medical center, to hear a wide variety of innovative projects demonstrated during iEX.

Day 1 Demos from Breakout Room 2 include Sherry Fedak’s Emergency Department (ED) Screening for Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) demo, which is putting IPV as a focus for screening in the ED and addressing missed opportunities in care to help this vulnerable population; Terri Ohlinger’s Drop Ease demo of an easy-to-use eye drop delivery system designed for those with reduced manual dexterity due to conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); and Daniel Murphy’s Oath Aging Care demo, helping older Veterans successfully navigate the challenges of aging through a platform for Aging Well at Home.

Lastly, be sure to check out the Demos from Day 2 in Breakout Room 2 offering a dynamic slate of innovations, including Bedside Nurse Suzanne Zwerin’s Disposable Air Pillow that addresses comfort, infection prevention, accessibility and environmental concerns; Angel Avila’s Medication Drop Box that cuts the time it takes to fill a medication box for elderly and impaired Veterans in half; and Kevin Johnson’s Kyphotic Wedge demo, displaying a solution for VA patients with back problems that need to have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).