• VA awards adaptive sports grants for Veterans

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    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today it will award nearly $15 million to 119 national, regional and community programs, headquartered in 37 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

    Programs funded through these grants will offer adaptive sports and activities to more than 13,000 Veterans and members of the Armed Forces with disabilities.

    Included are Paralympic sports, such as archery, cycling and skiing. Additional outdoor sporting activities are hunting, rock climbing and sky diving. Of the total, $1.5 million is being used to support organizations that offer equine-assisted therapy to support mental health.

    “Adaptive sports empower Veterans to overcome daily challenges and live without limits,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “This is made possible by partnering with over 100 community organizations dedicated to providing adaptive sports and activities to encourage Veterans along their health and wellness journey.”

    Grant recipients may use the funds for planning, developing, managing and implementing adaptive sports programs. VA will award the grants to national governing bodies, which prepare high-level athletes for Paralympic competition; Veterans Service Organizations; city and regional municipalities; and other community groups to provide a wide range of adaptive sports opportunities.

    Information about the awardees and details of the program are available at VA Adaptive Sports Grants Program and @Sports4Vets on social media.

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  • VA awards Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor 2.0 contracts for distribution and supply management services to provide Veteran health care

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    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today it has awarded three contracts to provide Prime Vendor (PV) support to VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) and Other Government Agencies (OGAs) via VA’s new Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor (MSPV) 2.0 program.

    MSPV 2.0 is the department’s strategic sourcing vehicle, which provides comprehensive distribution and supply management of all required medical, surgical, dental and laboratory supplies to VAMCs to ensure VA provides the highest level of care to Veterans.

    MSPV 2.0 is a key element in the Veterans Health Administration’s integrated supply chain improvement initiative that has been designed to significantly improve efficiency and accuracy. MSPV 2.0 enables VA to provide VA’s healthcare facilities and clinicians with the necessary medical/surgical supplies to provide superior care to Veteran patients on a national scale.

    VA manages the country’s largest integrated healthcare system, serving approximately nine million enrolled Veterans each year by providing care at 1,243 health care facilities (VA and OGA facilities), including 172 VAMCs and 1,062 outpatient sites in 18 regions known as Veteran Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) throughout the U.S., its territories and the Philippines. VA’s healthcare system receives the majority of medical and surgical supply support through the MSPV program.

    VA established the three separate contract vehicles to purchase necessary medical/surgical supplies for Veteran care directly from PVs, who will be responsible for providing distribution and supply management services to the Agency. Service providers will utilize the MSPV 2.0 Product List, a comprehensive listing of medical, surgical, dental, and laboratory supplies compiled from separately established blanket purchase agreements, in which VA previously identified authorized sources of supply through separate competitive Requests for Quotations.

    VA awarded MSPV 2.0 contracts to the following firms:

    Cardinal Health 200, LLC
    Primary PV: VISNs 5, 6, 7, 8, 16, 17, and 22
    Alternate PV: VISNs 1, 2, 4, 9, 12, 15, 19, 20, 21, and 23

    Cardinal Health P.R. 220, LLC
    Primary PV: VISN 24 (Puerto Rico)

    Medline Industries, Inc.
    Primary PV: VISNs 1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 12, 15, 19, 20, 21, 23, and 25 (OGAs)
    Alternate PV: VISNs 5, 6, 7, 8, 16, 17, 22, and 24 (Puerto Rico)

    Contract period of performance for both Cardinal Health 200, LLC and Medline Industries, Inc, will begin in November 2020.

    Contract period of performance for Cardinal Health P.R. 220, LLC, will begin in August 2021.

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  • VA recognizes HeRO award winners for safety initiatives, COVID-19 efforts

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    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today it honored Veterans Health Administration (VHA) National HeRO Award recipients for their contributions to VHA’s journey to becoming a high reliability organization (HRO).

    VHA’s enterprise-wide journey to high reliability aims to continuously improve its processes by maximizing safety and minimizing harm to achieve the goal of ensuring every patient receives excellent care every time.

    The awardees were recognized for their safety and process improvement initiatives as well as their COVID-19 response efforts to provide the best possible care to Veterans. Their accomplishments include COVID-19 communication and education, innovative and efficient COVID-19 screening and triage processes including the development of a screening app, and using 3D printing technology for personal protective equipment.

    “Even during these unpredictable times and the COVID-19 response, these recipients responded swiftly and efficiently to ensure that VHA delivers the best care available to our Veterans,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “From developing new entry procedures to manufacturing personal protective equipment to staying in touch with Veterans, VA staff are handling the pandemic quickly and creatively.”

    Each of the 11 teams and individuals were nominated by top leadership in one of five categories: Clinical individual from a Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) or facility, non-clinical individual from a VISN or facility, clinical team from a VISN or facility, non-clinical team from a VISN or facility and individual or team from VHA central office.

    The National HeRO Award is the highest level of HRO recognition available within VHA and is reserved to honor employees who advance VHA’s journey to high reliability through demonstration of VHA’s HRO principles in action. The HRO steering committee votes quarterly to select one winner in each category for a National HeRO Award.

    Learn more about VA’s journey to high reliability at VA National Center for Patient Safety.

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