Venture-Backed Startups: Why they are an important supplier for VA Healthcare Solutions Zen Chu will describe why venture capital-backed startups adapt and thrive in dynamic environments and can be valuable partners in the VA Healthcare Innovation Ecosystem.

Rob Lieberthal, Principal, Health Economics and Group Lead at The MITRE Corporation, discusses Synthea™, an open-source, synthetic patient generator. Synthea was designed to solve the challenge of faster, cheaper, interoperable health care data. Join us to learn how you can start using Synthea™ today and spend more time and budget on rewards and recognition than data and compliance.

Using Genomics for Precision Behavioral Health: What if a simple lab test could identify those at risk for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) even before they encountered trauma or risk stratify those who are at greatest risk after trauma exposure? Dr. Anne Naclerio will discuss how VHA is working with TruGenomix to move behavioral health care for Veterans into the 21st Century by using cutting-edge genomic biomarkers for earlier detection and to direct the development of novel interventions.

Paul Goodwin will tell the story of innovation at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System that is creating new hope for Veterans by 3DPrinting and growing living bone. This will serve as a model for manufacturing patient specific living tissues and organs in the future.

How has COVID-19 changed the way we serve Veterans and their families? Whether you are a first responder, housekeeper, or caregiver, the onset of COVID-19 taught you to develop and adopt creative new ways to advance our collective mission. From the tragedy and disruption spawned by COVID-19, this talk with Dallas Blaney will point the way to a brighter and more resilient future by calling on listeners to reimagine themselves as makers.

The future of surgery has arrived at VA! Learn more about how Medivis is working with VHA Innovation Ecosystem to transform medical and surgical visualization using augmented reality. Dr. Osamah Choudhry, a neurosurgeon and co-founder of Medivis, will speak about the exciting potential behind using augmented reality technology to make surgeries faster and safer for Veterans.

Diabetes affects a quarter of all patients in VA, yet one of its most debilitating and costly complications is often ignored. In this talk, Jon Bloom, CEO of Podimetrics, discusses how his company has worked with the VHA Innovation Ecosystem to implement remote monitoring technology that is preventing diabetic amputations and drastically reducing the $3.2 billion that VA spends each year treating diabetic foot complications.

This talk from MSI Director Zaneta Adams will take you on the transformative journey of courage to connection to care in the lives of women Veterans while addressing why they struggle to identify and connect. Additionally, it will provide the blueprint necessary to access, utilize, and see results from the use of the Military Sisterhood Initiative platform to transform and positively impact the lives of women Veterans.

Mr. Joe Grace moderates a discussion with panelists Dr. Martha Gray, Mr. Stacey Chang, Mr. Andy Waldeck, and Ms. Erin Siminerio around workforce development and skill-building to advance innovation in health systems. Panelists share their experiences growing the health care workforce on the frontlines to cultivate innovative ideas through empowering, enabling, and training innovators to imagine and advance innovative ideas.

Dr. Ken Kizer and Mr. Dean Kamen discuss how to create a safe environment for innovation in health care, where there is often zero tolerance for errors. They will share their experiences institutionalizing integrated, systematic, repeatable pathways for change. Their conversation offers insights on how to build, acquire, and advance organizational capacity and infrastructure to empower a broader network of innovators.

As 2020 comes to an end and we prepare for the new year, it is a great time to reflect on the past year and focus on intention setting for the year ahead. This past year was one of the toughest in American history. It’s good to acknowledge the difficulties, reflect on the successes, and think about what you would like to see happen in the coming year. An intention is not the same as a goal or a resolution. Rather than a solution to a problem, an intention is about connecting with your mission, aspiration and purpose. Good news: setting and revisiting your intention(s) can help you realize your goals. Join this brief meditation practice to get into the mindset of setting your intentions for 2021.

Do you feel like your IT systems ought to be working for you, but in fact, you're working for them? Casey Coleman shows us how IT modernization is changing antiquated, complex systems into human-centric platforms, and how these personalized services impact Veterans and the VHA community.

Watch the VHA iEx Awards and Closing Ceremony to celebrate innovation at VA. During the Awards Ceremony, VHA leadership recognize the top innovators from across the health care system and present the Innovator of the Year Award in remembrance of Dr. Robert Jesse, former Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Health.

Mr. Joe Grace will moderates a discussion with Dr. Saurabha Bhatnagar, Ms. Jessica Davis, Ms. Cherissa Jackson, and Dr. Jay Bhatt around delivering more, together to build collaboration for health care delivery. Panelists share their experiences building partnerships that help health systems form collaborative networks to solve industry challenges and address needs that transcend the boundaries of an individual system.

How can you collaborate on the cutting edge? Toby Redshaw who is responsible for Verizon’s Enterprise Innovation and 5G Solutions area, shares the value of partnering with startups, academia, and enterprise teams to rethink what is possible in a 5G world. During his keynote, he discusses how to nurture top talent and the importance of co-creating solutions.