Collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs and rural community health centers

Since 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) actively seeks to better understand the number of Community Health Center (CHC) patients who are Veterans. Despite efforts to gain this insight, the exact number of Veterans, both enrolled and non-enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), served by CHCs remains unclear. This innovative pilot project seeks to identify rural Veteran CHC patients within the Capitol Health Care Network, increase rural Veteran enrollment, and better coordinate rural Veteran care between VHA and CHCs. Through a baseline assessment and telephone interviews of roughly 200 Veteran patients of participating rural CHC pilot sites, this project analyzed a geographically diverse CHC population, assessing data trends, such as age, gender, market penetration, service connection, and priority status, and developed specific recommendations for improved data collection on rural Veterans among all CHCs. According to the baseline assessment, in 2008 and 2009 an aggregate total of 2,500 Veterans were served by these CHCs. Although most are male, the women Veterans have unique health care needs. The male Veteran population is largely over the age of 65, suggesting a need for geriatric specialty care and home health services. Finally, given the high number of enrolled Veterans who have incomes below the VA national income threshold, it is likely that much of the non-enrolled Veteran population may also need financial support to obtain needed health care. Based upon the results of this assessment, the project team will select a number of CHC sites to participate in a four-month pilot project that will focus on: increasing VHA enrollment, improving the CHC intake process, developing outreach and education materials, establishing communication channels, and building a framework for clinical collaboration between the VHA and CHCs. This project has the potential to serve a framework for a collaborative care pilot developed around the clinical needs of rural Veterans who have access to both systems of health care. The project could also serve as a national model for VA and other Veterans Integrated Service Networks to collaborate with CHCs.