News>DOD, VA healthcare officials combine specialties to provide 'one-stop shop'
Photos
Senior Airman Gabrielle Oaxaca takes retired veteran Barry Silva's blood pressure during his dialysis treatment Oct. 13, 2010, at the David Grant USAF Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The medical center's new state-of-the-art 16-seat hemodialysis unit is jointly run by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense and is the largest joint operation of its kind.
(U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)
Donavon Park and Julie Wagness target a patient's prostate cancer for radiation treatment using a newly-upgraded, $5.7 million linear accelerator Oct. 13, 2010, at the David Grand USAF Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. This treatment targets the cancer with pinpoint precision and accuracy. Mr. Park and Ms. Wagness are radiation therapists with the Department of Veterans Affairs at the Joint Radiation Oncology Center. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)
The 16-chair, $1.6 million Hemodialysis Center at the David Grant USAF Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., is the largest Department of Defense/Veterans Affairs operation of its kind for either organization. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)
Retired veteran Oliver Garrett laughs with his doctors during his dialysis treatment Oct. 13, 2010, at the David Grant USAF Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The medical center's new state-of-the-art 16-seat hemodialysis unit is jointly run by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)
by Staff Sgt. Vanessa Young
Defense Media Activity
10/14/2010 - TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- Through a joint venture between Defense Department and Veterans Affairs officials, medical professionals here are offering DOD and VA patients a combined clinic for heart, lung and vascular care.
The Heart, Lung and Vascular Center at David Grant USAF Medical Center, which opened Oct. 13, is the latest program put into place to allow DOD and VA healthcare professionals to work together to provide active-duty and veteran beneficiaries a wide range of clinical capabilities and services in a unified multi-specialty clinic.
"We are at the forefront of bridging the care from active-duty to veteran status," said Col. (Dr.) Brian Hayes, the 60th Medical Group commander. "Our journey that has led to this day has been long and arduous, but has produced incredible results culminating in a brand new cardiovascular program."
The Heart, Lung and Vascular Center, a program three years in the making, includes a new cardiac catheter lab, a new hybrid cardiology-vascular operating room and a cardiac intensive care unit.
"Between the Air Force and (University of California at Davis Medical Center) and the VA (officials), we've done what no one else has done, but what really matters is what it brings to our combined beneficiaries," said Dr. Brian O'Neill, the director of the Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System.
With the opening of this facility, a variety of heart, lung and circulation specialists and surgeons with the latest technology are on hand so the patients will only have to be seen at one clinic. This clinic also will allow specialists to perform combined procedures without moving the patient.
Also through joint VA-DOD efforts, officials updated and expanded the Hemodialysis Clinic, which is now the largest in the Air Force, and acquired two state-of-the-art linear accelerators for the Joint Radiation-Oncology Center. The Neurosurgery, Inpatient Mental Health Unit and Peritoneal Dialysis centers were also updated through Joint Incentive Funds grants.
With a combined service area of about 500,000 patients, the VA-DOD staff at DGMC is the largest in the nation. This 16-year partnership creates unique training opportunities for the combined staff, Dr. O'Neill said.
"We combine a clinical mission with the VA and the Air Force, but also a training mission for servicemen and women to provide state-of-the art-care for our battle warriors," he said. "They will be deployed at one time or another and they get the training to prepare them for battle injury treatment right here at David Grant, which is an incredibly important part of the Air Force mission."
In addition to training opportunities, Dr. O'Neill said the partnership also provides a venue for research opportunities in the future.
"We are really excited, because it meets the professional needs of the Air Force, the VA and UC Davis," he said. "It's truly a win-win-win."
Comments
10/15/2010 8:08:06 AM ET This concept has been a long time coming. Hopefully this will start a more efficient bridge between active duty and veteran care. The next logical step would be to have a system where the active duty medical records can be accessed by the VA to make the compensation rating more efficient. For the sake of our current and future warriors, I hope this concept becomes a model.
