Veteran trust in VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System continues to rise

Trust among VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System veteran patients has risen to 90%, a 9% increase from 2018, when VA began surveying veterans.

Trust ratings are based on a survey of VA ECHCS's veteran patients who received care in the past 90 days. Within one week of using services, these veterans were asked if they trusted VA for their health care needs across a variety of categories — including scheduling an appointment, health care visits, in-person pharmacy, mail-order pharmacy, labs/imaging and veteran safety.

Veteran care is at the forefront of VA ECHCS’ mission, and that is reflected in its increased trust rating. VA ECHCS continues to work toward providing its veterans with information on frequently asked questions and empowering staff to “Own the Moment," which includes connect and care, listening and responding to needs and guiding the journey. 

This encapsulates the sum of all interactions, shaped by its organizational culture, that influences veterans’ and their families’ perceptions along their health care journey. Thus, improving the connection of staff who are considered the subject matter experts in their areas of responsibility at the point where they have questions or concerns. The staff/patient interaction is one of the top five compliment areas for VA ECHCS (quality of care, interactions with staff, appointment check-in process, specialty care, and wait time at the facility), and the top five concerns are related to processes (medication arriving via mail, Community Care process, wait times over the phone and appointment cancellations).

"Our top priority is providing the world-class care that veterans deserve," said VA ECHCS Interim Director, Amir Farooqi, FACHE. “We’ve made great strides in veteran care and improving overall wait times, veteran experiences and increasing trust in the VA across the board in the last six years, and we will continue to work to further improve in all of those areas."

The upward trend in veteran trust parallels VA's continuous efforts to expand and enhance the quality of care and benefits available to veterans. As confidence in VA grows, more veterans choose VA for their health care needs.

The Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, which allows VA to expand health care and benefits to millions of veterans, has made recent enrollment increases possible. As of March 5, all veterans exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving in the military and meeting specific requirements became eligible to enroll directly in VA health care—years earlier than the law called for.

Additionally, according to Medicare’s latest nationwide survey of patients, VA hospitals outperformed non-VA hospitals on all ten core patient satisfaction metrics — including overall hospital rating, communication with doctors, communication about medication, willingness to recommend the hospital, and more.

VA ECHCS received five-star overall and patient survey ratings in the annual Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hospital ratings, Medicare’s latest survey of patients.

To learn more about VA health care, veterans can connect with VA ECHCS at upcoming events.  

VA ECHCS encourages all veterans, family members, caregivers, and survivors to learn more about VA and apply for their world-class health care and earned benefits today. For more information about VA care, visit VA’s health care website.

Janelle Beswick, Acting public affairs officer

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