Healthcare Inspection - Follow-up Review of the Pause in Providing Inpatient Care VA Northern Indiana Healthcare System, Fort Wayne, Indiana

OIG conducted an oversight review to follow up on the published report, Healthcare Inspection - Review of Circumstances Leading to a Pause in Providing Inpatient Care at the VA Northern Indiana Healthcare System, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Report No. 2013-00670-265 issued on August 2, 2013. At the time of our follow-up review, 16 medical beds with telemetry capability on the acute medical unit were open; however, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) remained closed. As a result, the facility did not accept medically complex patients and offered only limited surgical procedures. Consequently, many area veterans continue to receive Non-VA Care. Although the Veterans Health Administration approved the facility’s proposal to reopen the ICU as a Level 4 ICU, an official date had not been established as of July 2, 2014. We found the facility has taken actions to actively recruit qualified clinical and leadership staff, but some clinical staff positions needed to be filled prior to the reopening of the ICU and some leadership positions remained vacant. We recommended the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) Director ensure continued monitoring and implementation of actions for the reopening of the ICU. We recommended the VISN Director and the VA Northern Indiana Healthcare System (VANIHCS) Director ensure recruitment efforts continue for vacant leadership and clinical staff positions. We recommended the VANIHCS Director ensure that nursing leaders assess the utilization of the nursing staff to systemically plan assignments during times when the acute medical unit’s census is low.