VA Garners Awards
The Gears of Government Award is a program that recognizes individual federal employees and teams for performance and dedication to their agency mission. There are 29 agencies and councils in government, ranging from NASA to the Treasury Department. The Department of Veterans Affairs won 16 Gears of Government Awards this year. Here are a few of them:
• Patient safety was high on the list. Procedures were put into practice to prevent in-hospital pneumonia and the prescribing of unnecessary drugs to veterans. VA police now carry opioid-reversing medication should there be an overdose emergency. These two steps lowered VA costs by $24 million and improved care for 120,000 veterans.
• Technological advances allowed eyeglasses to be created in minutes rather than a whole day.
• Over 350,000 VA customer-service employees were trained on modernized and improved data systems, allowing real-time feedback.
• Processing times for disability compensation claims were reduced by automating 40% of those claims.
• A group of VA individuals analyzed criminal information and provided assistance to nab five criminals involved in identity theft and fraud schemes targeting VA employees and veterans. The schemes were stopped before veterans’ personal and banking information was compromised.
• Changes in the way vocational rehab counselors exhibited proficiency in job skills eliminated inefficiency, leaving more time for direct service to veterans.
•The VET TEC group managed an educational program giving veterans more job opportunities through high-tech accelerated learning programs.
• A training and response team developed a safety program for patients receiving anesthesia, which prevented the risk of emergence delirium. This has reduced the risk of injury for both the veterans and staff across the country.
• Individuals were recognized, too, including one employee who worked with organizations across Illinois to benefit homeless veterans and those facing incarceration. We knew there were some good people at the VA. Now we know where they are and what they’ve been doing.