To care for him who

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
Welcome
To care for him who shall have borne the
battle and his widow and orphan. Abraham
Lincoln Governors Task Force 5 June, 2008 Jack
Heims, MSW, FACHE
Portland VAMC Main Campus
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VHA Oregon Medical Services
Our Organization

• The Department of Veterans Affairs is comprised
  of
• Veterans Benefits Administration provides
  compensation and
• pension, education, life insurance, loan
  guaranty, vocational
• rehabilitation employment
• National Cemetery Service provides burial
  services to veterans
• and their spouses
• Veterans Health Administration provides
  medical, surgical,
• mental health long term care services to
  veterans
• Note Military hospitals for active duty
  personnel are part of
• the Department of Defense, for example - Walter
  Reed

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VHA
OUR MISSION Honor Americas veterans by providing
exceptional health care that improves their
health and well-being.
OUR VISION To be a patient-centered integrated
health care organization for veterans providing
excellent health care, research, and education
an organization where people choose to work an
active community partner and a back-up for
National emergencies.
Roseburg Facility
OUR VALUES Trust, Respect, Excellence,
Compassion, Commitment
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VHA Oregon Medical Services
WHO WE ARE

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is
divided into 22 Veterans Integrated Service
Networks (VISN's)
The Oregon Facilities are part of VA Northwest
Network VISN 20, which is comprised of the
largest geographical land mass of any VISN within
the Department of Veterans Affairs
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VHA Oregon Medical Services
PORTLAND VA MEDICAL CENTER

149 inpatient 72 nursing home beds Referral
Center Full Continuum of Care Acute Medicine,
Surgery, Psychiatry, Neurology, Rehabilitation,
Emergency, Primary, Specialty, Transplant,
Ophthalmology, Optometry, Cardiology,
Endocrinology, Rheumatology, Geriatrics,
Hemodialysis, Endoscopy, Chemotherapy, ENT,
Orthopedics, Podiatry, General Surgery, Urology,
Dental, Psychology, PTSD, Substance Abuse, Opioid
Substitution,, Nuclear Medicine, Imaging, Path
Lab, Audiology, etc.
Portland VAMC Main Facility
Support VISN 20, Willamette National Cemetery,
and two Vet Centers
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VHA Oregon Medical Services
VANCOUVER FACILITY
The Vancouver campus includes a 72-bed Nursing
Skilled Care Unit/Comprehensive Rehabilitation
Unit, Primary Care Clinic, Mental Health Clinic,
Substance Abuse Treatment, Dental, Prosthetics,
Community Nursing Home, Home and Community Based
Care, Transitional Lodging Unit, Transplant
Lodging Unit, Telephone Care, Warehouse, Laundry
and VISN 20 Administrative Offices.
A Single Room Occupancy Enhanced-Use Lease (EUL)
exists on the campus along with the Clark County
Center for Community Health (EUL)
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VHA Oregon Medical Services
Roseburg VA Medical Center Southern Oregon
Rehabilitation Center Clinics

• Roseburg VA Medical Center
• Inpt PTSD, SA
• Not all Specialties
• surgical capabilities
• Primary MH and Primary Care

• SORCC (White City)
• Primarily Rehab with 425 Beds
• Primary MH and Primary Care

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
Additional Medical Care Coverage provided by
Community Based Outpatient Clinics

• FT Current CBOCs
•    Bandon
• Bend (expanded)
•     Brookings
•     Eugene (expanded)
•    Klamath Falls
•     Ontario
•     Portland East 
•   Salem
•     Warrenton

• Planned FT or PT Clinics
• West Portland (12/08)
• Burns
• Grants Pass
• The Dalles (9/08)
• Lincoln County (FY09)
• Ore City Area (FY09)
• Bandon Relocate to North Bend

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Portland VA Medical Center
VHA Oregon Medical Services
FY07 OREGON VITAL STATISTICS

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
RESEARCH

• 151 Active Research Investigators
• Research and Education Foundation
• NW VA Cancer Research Center
• National Center For Rehabilitative Auditory
• Research (NCRAR)
• Mental Illness Research Education Clinical
• Center (MIRECC)
• Parkinsons Disease Research, Education
  Clinical
• Center (PADRECC)
• Alcohol Research Center
• MS Center of Excellence
• NW Hepatitis C Center of Excellence
• Methamphetamine Research Center
• Center for the Study of Chronic, Comorbid
  Mental,
• and Physical Disorders
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  (AHRG)
• Decision Science Center

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
EDUCATION

• Primary academic affiliate is Oregon
• Health Science University
• 138 affiliation agreements with
• 55 educational institutions
• 133.93 funded house officers in 33 different
  specialties

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
OREGON VETERAN POPULATION BY COUNTY

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
EXAMPLE OF ACCESS GROWTH

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
OIF/OEF VETERANS

• 48 are Active Duty, 52 are Reserve/National
  Guard
• 88 are men, 12 are women
• 65 Army 12 Air Force 12 Navy 12 Marine
• 34 were deployed multiple times
• 52, largest age group, is 20-29 years old
• 69 of those who filed disability claims
  received
• service-connected disability compensation award
• As of March 2008, Oregon Facilities have
  enrolled approximately 5000 OIF/OEF veterans
  

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
OIF/OEF VETERANS
Veterans Tracking Application, March 5, 2008

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
NATIVE AMERICAN PARTNERSHIPS

• Continued sponsorship of Camp Chaparral, now in
  its 14th year
• Provision of VA staff to tribal clinics to
  assist with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
  issues, to include training over 200 attendees
• Development of MOUs in Portland and Walla
  Walla to provide a mechanism for specialty care
  referrals and prescription support
• Provision of technical assistance in the
  development of electronic medical records at Warm
  Springs

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
Eligibility, Co-Pays, Fee, CHAMPVA

• Eight levels of eligibility (See Handout)
• Co-Pays depending on priority levels, Income,
  Special Programs and can be waived in certain
  circumstances (See Handout)
• Generally Fee Cards allow, in certain cases,
  for veterans to access non-VA services in rural
  parts of the state. These are on decline due to
  efforts to bring care closer to where veterans
  live
• Sometimes we contract (purchase) specialty care
  in the community when our ability to meet demand
  outstrips our supply
• CHAMPVA for spouses and Dependents, Few Oregon
  providers accept it. (See Handout)

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
OUT OF NETWORK CARE

• VA may authorize payment of emergent inpatient
  care at non-VA facilities only when certain
  criteria is met. Care must be
• For emergent treatment of a service connected
  disability
• For emergent treatment for any condition for a
  veteran rated permanently and totally disabled by
  VA regional office
• For female veterans if notified within 72
  hours, and
• A few other conditions

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
OUT OF NETWORK CARE

• If neither of these criteria are met, VA may
  consider inpatient claims for payment if the
  following is met
• Veteran is enrolled in VA healthcare and has
  received treatment at a VA within the past 24
  months
• VA is notified within 90 days of the admission
• Veteran has no other insurance
• Under these conditions, payment is made only
  until medically stable.
• Each case is reviewed based on eligibility and
  medical documentation and can be appealed.
• If the veteran has other insurance, then VA does
  not pay

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VHA Oregon Medical Services
SUMMARY
Meeting the physical and emotional needs of
all our Veterans is a complex undertaking Oregon
Facilities have and are continuing to improve
access and meet unprecedented growth OEF/OIF
Veterans are increasing, bringing New challenges
such as TBI
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VHA Oregon Medical Services
THANK YOU For Your Service to Our Veterans