Healthy Living Messages

• Be Physically Active
• Eat Wisely
• Strive for a Healthy Weight
• Get Recommended Screening Tests & Immunizations
• Be Involved in Your Health Care
• Be Tobacco Free
• Limit Alcohol
• Manage Stress
• Be Safe
  

HealthPOWER! Prevention News - Spring 2010 (From the Chief Consultant)

The VHA Preventive Care Program
Linda Kinsinger, MD, MPH
Chief Consultant for Preventive Medicine

Change is coming to the Veterans Health Administration! As noted in the Winter 2009 issue of HealthPOWER! Prevention News, VHA is launching a major new effort to transform the way we provide health care to our nation’s Veterans. The largest component of this change process is the initiative called "Patient Centered Medical Home," led by the Office of Primary Care in the Office of Patient Care Services. Our feature article by Dr. Richard Stark describes what this initiative is all about – patient-driven, team-based, coordinated, comprehensive, whole-person healthcare.

Closely aligned with the Patient Centered Medical Home approach is another new initiative – the VHA Preventive Care Program. Led by the VHA National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, this initiative is designed to provide Veterans with comprehensive health education, clinical services, and self-management support for health promotion and disease prevention needs. The initiative will focus on key prevention areas, including nutrition, physical activity, weight management, smoking, alcohol use, stress management, clinical preventive services, safety, and healthcare communication. The Preventive Care Program has three main components: 1) building a facility-level infrastructure for health promotion/disease prevention by funding two new full-time positions in each facility: a Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Program Manager and a Health Behavior Coordinator, who will jointly lead the Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Program Committee; 2) supporting the delivery of health promotion and disease prevention services in the Patient Centered Medical Home, including training for PCMH staff; and 3) developing new tools for Veterans to provide health education, both general information in the Veterans Health Library and individually tailored information in the Health Risk Assessment. All these components are more fully described in articles on the following pages. In addition, other tools being developed for future deployment include a nation-wide smoking cessation quitline and national telephone lifestyle coaching call center, as well as a program for mental health promotion, based on problem-solving techniques.

The graphic below illustrates how these components fit together. Because of space limitations, the picture is fairly small. For a larger size and more details, please go to our VHA Preventive Care Program intranet web page: http://vaww.prevention.va.gov/VHA_Preventive_Care_Program.asp

Change is usually not easy but it often leads to a better place for everyone involved. VHA’s exciting new direction for patient-centered healthcare, with an increased emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention, is no exception.