Episode 76 - Quality You Can Trust

Your teeth play a very important role in your life...not only do they help you chew and eat food, but they are also a big part of talking and speaking clearly, and your smile is one of the first things people notice about you when they meet you.  Keeping your teeth and gums healthy can also have many benefits to keeping other parts of your body in top condition.  The VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System has a full range of dental professionals here to help Veterans keep their smiles shining, but there can be some confusion about who can access dental care and at what level. On this episode of The 9 Line, we'll talk with two of our dental team about why it is so important to keep your oral health at the top of your personal maintenance checklist, who is eligible for what level of care within our dental clinic, and more.

If you've listened to our show before, you've heard us talk at length about the VA's implementation of the Whole Health concept of caring for our Veterans.  Whole Health is an approach to care that supports Veteran health and well-being while centering around preventative education and finding out what matters to a Veteran.  This means a Veteran's health team will get to know them as a person, before working to develop a personalized health plan based on their values, needs, and goals.   April is Whole Health month, so with that in mind we're dedicating this episode of The 9 Line to speaking with a couple of members of our Whole Health staff about how the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System is continuing to integrate Whole Health into our care.

When a new year rolls around, it is a tradition for people to make resolutions to change the things they want to improve in their lives.  But usually, by the end of February, most resolutions have fallen by the wayside, waiting to be picked up again in 10 more months when the next January arrives.  But, did you know the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System has coaches who can help you with whatever part of your life you want to improve, year round, to help you stay committed to your health and lifestyle goals?  On this episode of “The 9 Line,” VASNHS’ biweekly podcast, Joshua Gray speaks with Lynn Burnham and Trinidad Rosas, two of our Whole Health Coaches, about the Circle of Health concept they use to keep people focused on their goals, how they can help you discover your path to a better you, and some of the populations they enjoy working with the most. 

This week, the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System played host to Mr. John Boerstler, the Chief Veterans Experience Officer for the Veterans Administration.  In his role, he oversees all of the surveys and customer service data we use to gauge how satisfied Veterans are with the care they recieve not only locally, but nationwide as well.  During his visit, he toured our North Las Vegas VA Medical Center, had the opportunity to meet with our staff and answer their questions about how the VA judges Veteran sentiment, and got a hands-on look at our GPS-enabled Wayfinding system to assist Veterans getting to their appointments. He also had a few moments to sit down with the crew of The 9 Line, talk about his journey to working for the VA, some of the ways we're looking to leverage technology to get more accurate and timely Veteran satisfaction data, and much more.

Eating well in this day and age can be a challenge…from large portion sizes when you go out to eat to highly processed foods in your kitchen when you’re cooking at home, many hurdles exist for those looking to live a healthy lifestyle where your body gets the nutrition it needs.  For Veterans, the task can be made even more difficult because the military lifestyle doesn’t always lead to great eating habits.  Fortunately for those Veterans, the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System has a wide variety of programs to help them unlearn those bad habits while giving them the skills to turn their kitchens at home into a place that helps them lead healthier lives.   On this episode of The 9 Line, we’ll speak with three of our dieticians who work every day with our Veterans about the programs available to those who want to improve what food goes into their bodies, what it takes to break some of those bad eating habits built up over the years, and what led them down the path to being nutritionists here at the VA.

Las Vegas was recently chosen as one of six cities of focus for unsheltered Veterans this winter by the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System (VASNHS) is increasing its outreach efforts to help meet VA’s goal to house 38,000+ Veterans experiencing homelessness nationwide in 2023. Throughout the winter months, VASNHS Community Resource and Referral Centers (CRRCs) will be working with community partners to identify and assist the population of homeless Veterans in Southern Nevada.  But Veteran homelessness isn't just an issue in the winter months, we're dedicated to making sure every Veteran experiencing homelessness has the opportunity to find housing, if they want it.   On this episode of The 9 Line, we'll talk to three members of our team who work every day to find Veterans who might be homeless and see what solution we can best apply to help get them off the streets and moving forward.  We'll also discuss the ongoing homeless surge and the upcoming Place in Time Homeless Census.

When most people think about the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System's medical facilities, the first thing on their mind is probably our North Las Vegas VA Medical Center.  But, that relatively new and modern building isn't the only place we deliver healthcare in our network, as we have four clinics in Las Vegas and we also have clinics in rural Laughlin and Pahrump.  Providing care at those outlying rural areas comes with some unique challenges when it comes to staffing and other logistics concerns.   On this episode of The 9 Line, we'll talk to Mike Augustin, Site Manager for our Laughlin Clinic, and TJ Ryan, Laughlin's Administrative Supervisor, about how they manage the care of our outlying Veterans, the logistical challenges they face and how they overcome them, and more.

Smoking cigarettes kills close to 500,000 Americans every year, and even for those who do not die from smoking-related illnesses, smoking costs Americans roughly $600 billion a year in lost productivity and health care costs.  Veterans are not immune to the impacts of smoking and Veterans have multiple factors that increase the likelihood they'll start or continue to smoke.   On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Dr. Janna Broxson, Health Behavior Coordinator, and Dr. Ashley Reich, Behavioral Health Clinical Pharmacy Practitioner about some of the factors that make Veterans more susceptible to smoking, what the VA is doing to help divert Veterans away from the habit, and some of the goings-on for the upcoming Great American Smokeout.

Many organizations talk about having "quality," and the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System is no different.  But, what exactly "quality," how do you measure it, and how do you become an organization that is a trusted name for customers and employees to rely on?  Suffice it to say, providing great service using the right mix of taxpayer dollars and manpower resources doesn't just happen.    On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Antoinette Pretto-Sparkuhl, Executive of Quality, Safety, Value and Dottie Grillo, Deputy Executive of Quality, Safety, Value about what steps VASNHS takes to ensure we are providing care at the right time, right place, and for the right cost.  We'll also discuss what goes into evaluating the information they receive and how they determine a path forward based off of that information.  

The VA's Caregiver Support program exists to provide assistance to those who care for Veterans who can't care for themselves.  Taking care of another who needs help with everyday tasks can be a very daunting task, and one that has the potential to take a great toll on the caregiver, both mentally and physically. The Caregiver Support Program is there to help caregivers learn not just what kind of care is needed for their loved ones, but how to best provide that care in a way that helps the Veteran while looking after the caregiver as well. On this episode of The 9 Line, we talk to Kristina Ricker-Boles and Sheri Shileika, Caregiver Support Program Coordinators, about how the Caregiver Support Program is there for caregivers, the process of enrolling in the Caregiver Support Program, and some of the upcoming events planned to help caregivers get connected to one another.