185732 Mobile Care Delivery Models: Improving Access to Counseling and Other Services

Monday, October 27, 2008

Ryung Suh, MD MPH MPP MBA , Department of Health Systems Administration, SNHS, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Richard Hartman, PhD , Office of the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Policy and Planning, Veterans Health Administration, Washington, DC
Sarah Johnson , Department of Health Systems Administration, SNHS, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Shivaani Prakash , Department of Health Systems Administration, SNHS, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Kara Hawthorne, MSW , Office of Rural Health, Veterans Health Administration, Washington, DC
Mobile Vet Centers in rural areas provide information about service availability and provide readjustment counseling through rural area outstations. Vet Centers also coordinate with community providers, employment services, substance abuse programs, and other health care providers to better support referrals and case management, to include use of telehealth linkages and over 300 private contracts to provide readjustment counseling. The Vet Center Program plans to station 50 mobile vans at strategically located Vet Centers throughout the country for the purpose of extending outreach and readjustment counseling to rural veterans. Further, over the two year period of FY 2008 through FY 2009, the VA will be establishing teleheath capacity at over 25 Vet Centers. This session reviews the Vet Center Program in the context of rural veterans and explores evaluations of effectiveness, impacts on access, and cost implications for using Mobile Vet Centers.

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the VA's use of Mobile Vet Centers to provide readjustment counseling to rural veterans Articulate the role of Vet Centers in coordinating care among community providers and programs Identify the impacts of using Mobile Vet Centers on access and cost for rural veterans

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I reviewed and participated in planning and research activities, to include a literature review, structured interviews, internal VA review, and environmental scan for the VA Office of Rural Health, as well as contributed to the Office of Rural Health strategic plan.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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