The Empty Chair

I’d like to share an example of just how transformative words can be—this time, within the realm of health care, specifically the care provided to our nation’s heroes: Veterans.

The VA Health Care System is the largest integrated health care system in the country. As one might expect, the only constant in Veteran health care is change. Policies and practices continually evolve as we strive to improve the care we provide.

In 2014, an Army Veteran patient of the Marion VA Health Care System reflected on these changes. His thoughts took him back to his military career and his service as a Psychiatric Social Worker in the VA System, where he fiercely advocated for patients and pushed for processes that prioritized Veterans’ needs over the system’s convenience.

This Veteran, who has requested anonymity, collected his thoughts and began to write the poem now known as “The Empty Chair”.

THE EMPTY CHAIR

I wonder how we would react, if at all our meetings there was an Empty Chair.

Would we look away, or possibly turn and stare?

But why would we bother with an Empty Chair… If all it does is elicit a stare?

Can an Empty Chair speak? Or convey thought? Or is it just empty?

And thus, should never have been brought.

But, what if the chair was an unspoken Vet? Could we ignore his presence, without feeling regret?

It’s a powerful thing… The Empty Chair. It doesn’t have to speak,

But we know it’s there.

As the chair can’t speak, it has no choice but to rely on us to become its voice.

Members of the Marion VA Patient Centered Care Committee received this poem from the author and immediately realized how powerful the words were. It was expeditiously incorporated into the culture of the Marion VA Health Care System.

 Leather panels featuring the poem were placed at the head of each table in every meeting room, serving as a constant reminder to honor the Veterans who are not present, but whose needs must guide our work. At the beginning of every meeting, attendees pause to recognize the “Empty Chair” and to center their thoughts on Veterans as they conduct daily business.

 This cultural shift has resulted in record patient satisfaction scores at the Marion VA Health Care System—95% or greater, routinely higher than the national average.

 We share this initiative across the VA as well. During a recent visit with top VA leadership, Secretary Doug Collins was briefed on “The Empty Chair” and how Marion VA has integrated it into their culture of care. He was presented with a leather panel featuring the poem and remarked, “I have just the chair in my office in Washington for this.”

 We are proud of the care we provide to our nation’s heroes and grateful that Marion VA Health Care System can be a driving force for cultural change across the VA. By embracing patient-centered care through practices like “The Empty Chair,” the Marion VA Health Care System continues to put Veterans first in everything we do. Thank you to all who have served our great nation. It is our honor to serve you.