History of the VHA National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

In 1983, a public law authorized the Veterans Administration to provide preventive health services to veterans. Because of this legislation, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) organized a field advisory group, a task force, and a policy council to oversee and monitor the delivery of preventive services.  Facilities were required to appoint prevention coordinators.

In 1992, Congress established a National Center for Preventive Health in Public Law 102-585, subchapter II, section 7318. The legislation specified that it would be a field-based program office of the VA Central Office, rather than located in Washington, DC. Facilities were asked to submit proposals for the Center; the proposal from the Durham, NC, VA Medical Center was selected. The VHA National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (NCP) opened there in 1995.

NCP began operations with a staff of three: Director Robert Sullivan, MD, and two others. A year later, the staff had grown to eight and the first Preventive Medicine conference was held in Las Vegas, in collaboration with patient health educators.  A Handbook and Program Guide were published, along with three editions of a newsletter, “Prevention Notes.”

From 1997 to 1999, the Center conducted the Veterans Health Survey annually, a survey about receipt of preventive services by Veterans. A national summit on the role of prevention in VA was held in 1998, attended by 25 nationally-known experts in the field.  For several years in the late 1990’s, a prevention conference was organized in conjunction with Patient Education and/or Primary Care.

A focus on weight management began in 2001, following a presentation at a primary care conference in San Diego by a panel of VA clinicians who had developed successful local weight management programs.  Building on this interest, a comprehensive weight management program for VHA facilities, called MOVE!, was developed. After a pilot phase, it was launched nationally in 2006 and has been fully implemented across the VHA healthcare system.

From 2006 to 2010, NCP led the HealthierUS Veterans initiative, a diabetes and obesity prevention joint collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2007, NCP expanded to include a new section, Veterans Health Education and Information. And in 2009, NCP established its role as the VHA office responsible for clinical preventive services guidance coordination within VHA.

Beginning in 2010, NCP has led the Secretary’s Transformational Initiative on preventive care, a large, multi-component initiative designed to promote healthy living among Veterans, provide facility support for preventive care, train clinical staff in patient-centered communication, and develop a number of resources for Veterans to receive health promotion and disease prevention services.

Steven J. Yevich, MD, MPH, served as Director from 2001 to 2005.  Linda S. Kinsinger, MD, MPH, became Director in 2005. Her title changed to Chief Consultant for Preventive Medicine, Office of Patient Care Services, in 2006. The number of staff has grown recently to 28 full- and part-time VA employees and contract staff.