Reimagining Veterans Healthcare

Veterans Health Administration sent this bulletin at 11/01/2022 01:45 PM EDT
 

New iEX Logo

Share this email with your colleagues to make sure they get the latest VHA IE news: SUBSCRIBE

Changing Lives Saving Lives Hi-Res

You Can Still Experience the 2022 VHA Innovation Experience (iEX)

The 2022 VHA Innovation Experience (iEX) may have ended, but you can still experience the future of Veteran healthcare from all our innovative leaders. Each day of iEX has available to stream on the iEX Homepage, filled with videos, photos, and upcoming recaps of each moment from iEX.

Don’t wait to wait? Read on to learn about what was discussed last week.

Day 1: Building the Movement

“I know without a shadow of doubt the widespread innovation at VA, that VA is known for, is not possible without you.” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough kicked off iEX with opening remarks highlighting the innovative work being done across VA, and acknowledging the hard work done by innovators both within and outside VA to Reimage Care for Veterans. 

Following Secretary McDonough, Shantanu Agrawal, MD, MPhil, Chief Health Officer at Elevance Health delivered the keynote address. Dr Agrawal spoke on current industry strategies driving whole-health approaches to care, including medical policy and clinical quality, as well as initiatives to address health-related social needs and health equity.

Day 1 continued with Dr. Ryan Vega, Chief Officer of the Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (HIL) participating in and moderating a panel that explored the challenges of defining value and its role in driving innovation in healthcare, as well as a Brain Break led by Brian Jenkins, Executive Director of the Armed Services Arts Partnership, which provides opportunities for Veterans to build community and adapt to challenges through performing and visual arts. Day 1 also included iEX Talks from Brynn Cole, Director of Design and Storytelling and VHA IE, among others, who spoke on how Reimagining Veterans Healthcare, the theme of this year’s iEX, has “become a movement, a drumbeat” that is driving innovation forward across VA.

The first day of iEX also included two additional plenary sessions: Driving Value with Innovation, where panelists discussed how strategies focused on four dynamic measures of value—access, effectiveness, efficiency, and equity—and following three fundamental principles—meaningfulness, appropriateness of scale, and time to value realization—can help ensure that every dollar invested in innovation returns value to the Veterans we serve; and Delivering Equitable Care, including a moving speech from Sonya Ebhotemen, Lead peer Specialist at VA, who spoke about the treatment choices that VA care allowed her helped her stay with her care team.

Day 2: Connecting the Dots

The second day of iEX began with remarks from Dr. Shereef M. Elnahal, Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health, speaking on how VHA can serve to “… connect the dots and build the infrastructure to bring incredible ideas to action on behalf of Veterans.” Other speakers from Day 2 included Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Discovery, Education and Affiliate Networks, and Kyle Malady, Executive Vice President and President Global Networks and Technology for Verizon. 

Day 2 continued with iEX Talks, including one from Allison Amrhein, Director of VHA Innovators Network (iNET), who thanked the over 700 employees who have participated in the program and reminded attendees that humans drive innovation and that they are the solution to the problems Veterans face. and WE are the solution to our own problems.

Day 2 also featured the VA podcast C20, live from iEX, featuring host Chad Kessler, Charles Franklin, Innovation Project Manager for New England Center for Innovation Excellence (NECIE), and Shawn Liu, Director of Communications for the Homeless Program Office, sharing how they designed their own platform to overcome transportation barriers for Veterans.

Day 3: Facing the Challenges of the Future

The last day of iEX began with Dr. Ryan Vega speaking on the State of Innovation across VHA: “The challenges that we face are real, and they’re not going to be easy. But there is no better organization, no better workforce positioned to move this agency forward, united by the mission that all brings us here, than us and you all.”

The final plenary sessions on Innovation in Mental Health, Leading with Innovation, and Creating Meaningful Engagement were hosted on the third day of iEX, followed immediately by the VHA Shark Tank Competition, where the 15 Shark Tank Finalists pitched their innovations to a live panel, including Brynn Cole, Leandro DaSilva, Acting Director for NECIE, and Michael Kilmer, Director of VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System.

iEX closed with a celebration of the incredible achievements of innovators and leaders across VHA, with the iNET Awards, the COVID Makers Challenge Winners, and the Under Secretary for Health’s Robert L. Jessie Award.

See What You Missed

Missed all or part of iEX? The iEX Homepage contains videos from each day of iEX, including speaker bios and panel descriptions, as well as photos from across all three days of the event.

Miss an iEX talk or Innovation Story? Curious about the VA Intrapreneur Product Marketplace Day? Easily digestible recaps of each iEX session are coming soon to the webpage!

Want to support VHA IE’s innovation revolution? Visit our website (https://www.va.gov/innovationecosystem/) to learn more about opportunities for involvement in innovation at VA.