On September 1, 2016, the VA
responded to the Commission on Care recommendations that were issued in
July. Also, President
Obama issued his response to Congress regarding the recommendations.
Included in the 18 recommendations was a call for the
elimination of health disparities. Specifically, the Commission made the
following recommendation:
Recommendation #5 – Eliminate health care disparities among
veterans treated in the VHA Care System by committing adequate personnel and
monetary resources to address the causes of the problem and ensuring the VHA
Health Equity Action Plan is fully implemented.
- VHA work to eliminate health disparities by establishing health care equity as a strategic priority.
- VHA provide the Office of Health Equity adequate resources and level of authority to successfully build cultural and military competence among all VHA Care System providers and employees.
- VHA ensure that the Health Equity Action Plan is fully implemented with adequate staffing, resources, and support.
- VHA increase the availability, quality, and use of race, ethnicity, and language data to improve the health of minority veterans and other vulnerable veteran populations with strong surveillance systems that monitor trends in health status, patient satisfaction, and quality measures.
The Commission on Care’s Final Report is available at https://commissiononcare.sites.usa.gov/files/2016/07/Commission-on-Care_Final-Report_063016_FOR-WEB.pdf.
VA's analysis of the Commission on Care's recommendations, including those recommendations focusing on health equity, is available at the following website: https://myva.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Commission-on-Care-SECVA-to-POTUS-memo.pdf.
The number of unique subscribers to the Office of Health has
now grown to over 10,000. The first announcement on the listserv was delivered
on February 24, 2016. The listserv was launched in an effort to raise awareness of
Veteran health equity.
In the words of OHE Chief Officer, Uchenna S. Uchendu, MD, “The pursuit of health equity should be everyone’s business. It is a
journey that takes time and effort. What can you do today in your area of
influence to improve health equity?” Let’s continue to raise awareness and
encourage friends, family, and colleagues to learn more about Veteran health
equity issues.
Visit http://www.va.gov/HEALTHEQUITY/Updates.asp
to subscribe to the listserv and read previous posts.
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