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Applications for three unique programs within VHA IE opened on April 1, providing opportunities for innovators at all stages: VHA Shark Tank Competition, New iNET Site Applications, and Go Fish!
Whether you’re at the earliest stages of innovation or have already successfully implemented a new initiative at a facility, VHA IE can help. Diffusion of Excellence is now accepting applications for its 10th VHA Shark Tank Competition, which identifies emerging employee-led practices that promote positive outcomes and improved experiences for Veterans. VHA Shark Tank Competition is designed for innovators who have successfully implemented their solution at least one facility.
For more information, Diffusion of Excellence will be holding an applicant information session on April 24. Visit VHA Shark Tank on Diffusion Marketplace to apply and learn more about the competition. Diffusion of Excellence is also recruiting VA leaders and subject matter experts to evaluate applications. Registration for evaluators is open until April 30 - sign up here. With any questions, please contact VADiffusionSupport@va.gov.
If you have identified a problem at your facility or elsewhere within VA and need support building a solution, VHA Innovators Network (iNET) may be able to help. iNET consists of 38 VA Medical Centers across the country who drive innovation on the frontline from the ground up. iNET’s Go Fish! is an application-based program for non-iNET site employees to find an iNET site “match” to sponsor their Spark-Seed-Spread application. The Spark-Seed-Spread Innovation Investment and Accelerator Program exists to identify and accelerate employee-inspired innovations to improve health care experiences for Veterans, families, caregivers and employees.
Interested applicants can register for one of iNET’s virtual information sessions being held throughout April using this form. To explore application requirements and access the application portal, click here. For iNET related questions, reach out to iNETsupport@va.gov.
iNET is also looking for new VAMCs to be a part of their bustling community of employees united by a desire to solve health care problems and engage in shared learning. Submissions must include a completed application and a letter of support from and signed by the medical center Director. iNET will be hosting information sessions on April 10 and 17, and interested applicants can register here. To explore application requirements and access the application portal, click here.
Applications for all three opportunities will close on April 30.
*Note: Internal links and calls are available only to employees on the VA Network
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 “It's Our Honor to Innovate and Improve for You” was the theme in Biloxi, Mississippi for VA Gulf Coast Healthcare System's inaugural Innovation & Improvement Expo. Hosted by improvement teams and iNET’s Innovation Specialists, the event made space for Veterans, caregivers, and employees to learn about 25 employee-driven innovations focused on improving patient care. Cognizant of night-shift employees and difficult schedules, the Expo even stayed open late one night to ensure maximum opportunity for all Veterans and employees.
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 Supporting Community Outpatient Urgent Care and Telehealth Services, or SCOUTS, is a post emergency department (ED) complementary service utilizing Intermediate Care Technicians (ICTs) to support care transitions by ensuring unmet care needs, geriatric syndromes, 4Ms of Age-Friendly Health System, and digital divide concerns are addressed in an acute time frame.
Aiming to assist older Veterans with a high risk of falling, hospitalization, functional decline, or repeat emergency department (ED) visits, SCOUTS uses ICTs to conduct a home visit following a Veteran’s emergency visit. ICTs are former military medics and corpsmen in a unique position to provide specialized care to older Veterans in VA EDs. ICTs also maintain continuity of care for vulnerable Veterans by using telehealth to connect Veterans to acute care providers during the SCOUTS home visit, allowing providers to address unmet health and social needs.
VA hospitals that have implemented SCOUTS have seen an almost a 40% decrease in hospitalizations in the 3 months following an ED visit and a 71% decrease in 72-hour ED revisits among Veterans served.
SCOUTS, a 2023 VHA Shark Tank Competition winner and Office of Rural Health Enterprise Wide Initiative led by Dr. Colleen McQuown of the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA GRECC, has been successfully implemented in eleven VA facilities, with another six in progress.
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