WASHINGTON -- Chosen from among 234 government programs, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Web-based VirtualLearningCenter recently was selected to receive the prestigious E-Gov 2002 Pioneer Award. This is the highest award given by E-Gov, a coalition of public- and private-sector groups promoting innovative electronic approaches to government.
The VirtualLearningCenter is a management tool for sharing information about new ideas and best practices across VA. Additionally, the program offers virtual mentoring opportunities by VA leaders sharing their experiences and creates a forum for people to share professional interests and to exchange information. The VirtualLearningCenter's Intranet program was activated in 1997 and was expanded to the Internet (http://www.va.gov/vlc) in 1999.
"One of the most important aspects of the program is that it provides a 'safe' environment for asking questions anonymously without fear of embarrassment," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. "It helps to improve the safety of veteran patients and employees by sharing lessons learned from errors. It allows front- line staff in San Francisco to share ideas with employees in New York City instantly."
The Pioneer Award will be presented at the E-Gov conference in June in Washington, D.C. E-Gov brings together public sector and industry partners to identify the skills, applications and technology needed to transform the way government does business.
"Information technology is at the heart of many changes in VA health care," said Principi. "Computerized patient records, consolidated mail-out pharmacy, simulated training in surgery and advanced neuro-imaging, all go hand-in-hand with the VirtualLearningCenter to enable VA to provide veterans the best, fastest and safest health care possible."
