It's always a joyous occasion whenever someone celebrates a birthday or anniversary, and here at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, we're in a celebratory mood as we quickly approach the 10 year anniversary of the opening of our North Las Vegas Medical Center.  Opening our North Las Vegas Medical Center was an important step in our continuing mission to provide America's Veterans with the best possible healthcare, as it allowed us to gather many of our resources under one roof in a modern facility. On this episode of The 9 Line, we're joined by VASNHS Executive Director Bill Caron, VASNHS Chief of Staff Dr. Ramu Komanduri, and VASNHS Assistant Director John Stelsel to talk about the planning that went into building our Medical Center, some of the roadblocks and challenges to making it a reality, and what the next ten years holds for our Healthcare System.

As a Healthcare System, we need to be prepared to not only deal with a health emergency that a Veteran may have, like a heart attack or a stroke, but we also have to be ready to deal with any situation life my throw at us like a natural disaster or a pandemic.  Since March 2020, we've been confronted with the many challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and one of the reasons we've been able to deal with COVID as well as we have is because our staff has been trained and drilled on many occasions of exactly what to do during a pandemic.  The people who manage and administer that training and planning work as part of our Emergency Management department. On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Dr. Felix Acevedo and Adrian Allen, two of the individuals here at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System who come to work every day thinking about the worst case scenarios, and then planning and devising ways to keep those scenarios at bay.

Healthcare has evolved rapidly and in unexpected directions over the past two years, and the kinds of services we deliver to Veterans and they way we serve them has changed just as rapidly and unexpectedly.  It goes without saying the COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted day-to-day healthcare services, but it has had far-ranging effects on how we staff those services and how we plan for our future. On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System Executive Director and CEO Bill Caron about what's gone on in our facilities in the past six months, the challenges in staffing our facilities so we can continue to provide healthcare to America's Veterans, and some ways we're looking to the future and planning around the COVID-19 virus.

When you think about Mental Health or Behavioral Health inside of the VA, many people will think about helping Veterans overcome PTSD issues related to service.  However, here at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, we also offer some help that a lot of people probably don't think of when they think "mental health" and that's helping Veterans with interpersonal relationships with a spouse or partner through our Couples and Family Service program. On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Dr. Ben Loew, our Couples and Family Services Coordinator, about the wide range of programs available to anyone seeking couples counseling or help with relationships, some of the unique aspects of how life in the military can impact a Veteran's relationships once they leave service, and some of his personal successes in helping Veterans become better communicators with their spouses or partners.

Technology has always been something that promised an easier, more convenient life.  From the fantasy of flying cars in the 1960s, or the real application of how the Information Superhighway changed how we go about many tasks in the late 1990s and early 2000s, integrating technology has not only held promise, but excitement as well.  Here at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, we're constantly rolling out new technological initiatives to improve the experience our Veterans have during their appointments and even before they even walk into any of our facilities. On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Charles Ramey, Chief of Communications and Customer Experience, Dr. Lowryanne Vick, Chief of Telehealth Services, and Brandi Ruiz, MyHealtheVet Coordinator about some of the ways we're using technology to cut wait times, put more information at Veterans' fingertips, and help them see providers in a setting that works best for their lives.

If you've ever been inside one of our medical facilities, chances are very good you have seen, or even had an interaction with, one of our many volunteers.  Working in areas ranging from hospitality and our information desk, to clerical and even printing duties, our volunteers are absolutely vital to ensuring everything we do runs smoothly.  Before COVID, the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System had over 600 volunteers working hard to make sure every Veteran visit was a good one.   On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Robert Johnson, the Chief of our Center for Development and Civic Engagement about the many roles our volunteers play, in addition to the vital contributions of the CDCE in managing donations to VASNHS and managing our relationships with any number of outside organizations who also want to help us provide Veterans with top-quality healthcare.

For some Veterans coming to the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System isn't just a quick trip around the corner.  Sometimes they come from many hours away due to the size of our catchment area, and sometimes they're here for a very long time and their families need a place to stay.  That's where the Fisher House comes into play.  Located on our campus, the Fisher House is a 16 room lodging facility where the families of any Veteran or Active Duty servicemember undergoing care in Las Vegas can stay free of charge. On this episode of The Nine Line, we talk with the staff of the Fisher House here in Las Vegas about how the House serves members of our Veteran and Active Duty community, what kind of support it takes from the local community to provide that service, and what drew them to working for the Fisher House.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and statistics show that one in three women and one in four men will be subjected to some form of sexual assault during their lifetimes.  Sexual Assault, and how the military and Veteran populations deal with it, has become a hot-button issue in many corners of American society as the focus turns towards rooting out predators and giving those who have experienced sexual assault more encouragement to come forward and tell their stories. On this episode of The 9 Line, we're joined by Dr. Nicole Anders and Felicia Douville to talk about VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System's Military Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence programs, some of the data that drives the programs to be more effective, and also about Denim Day, the upcoming capstone event of April's Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

There are many professions and industries that have simulators to allow staff to practice high-pressure or important scenarios in a practice environment.  Airline pilots have very involved simulators that let them see what it is like to suffer any number of technical failures without putting lives and aircraft at risk and police have simulators that let them see what it is like to deal with potentially armed individuals or hostage situations without putting real lives in danger.  But did you know the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System also has a robust training facility that allows our staff to see any number of potentially life-threatening medical conditions so they can practice responding to them if they should ever occur in our hospital or clinics? On this episode of The 9 Line, we talk to Dr. Eddie Avallone, Clinician Educator, and Quentin Hart, Simulation Coordinator about our Simulation Lab and how we use it to train staff to be ready for situations, how those training programs and situations are planned and tested, and how they decide on how to focus on what training our staff needs to see the most.  

The VA strives to provide care to patients that is safe, high quality, and centered on the needs of the patient.  But care like that doesn't just happen naturally, it takes a tremendous effort from a multitude of people to ensure the safety of our Veterans.  It involves not only the people who directly see a patient, but also supporting staff like our housekeepers and even the Veteran themselves.   On this episode of The Nine Line, we speak with representatives from Patient Safety and Quality, Safety, Value Departments to talk about the ways we create a culture of safety, some of the reporting methods to identify and correct potential patient safety concerns, and discuss some of the ways Veterans can be a part of the patient safety process.