Director's Message May 6, 2022

Audiology services were previously handled through our Care in the Community network (CITC), and it is exciting to have those same services now available through our own Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC.)  Veterans who are not already enrolled with the Kauai CBOC but who wish to use our new Audiology clinic are encouraged to enroll by calling 1-800-214-1306. 

I would like to thank Dr. Mark Sanders for his work in expanding the Audiology services offered through VAPIHCS, and all the folks at Supply Chain Management who helped get the equipment moved between islands. In honor of our new clinic, here are some Audiology tips provided by Dr. Mark Sanders, VAPIHCS. 

Dr. Sanders Helpful Tips

1. A good rule of thumb when listening to music in headphones is to always make sure you can still hear what is going on around you. If you can’t hear ambient noise, then the music is too loud.

2. Remember most hearing loss is from sustained noise over a certain number of decibels, so the amount of time that you spend in loud environments is a huge factor in hearing loss.

3. Hearing loss can be very isolating, so if you experience hearing difficulty don’t hesitate to reach out. Call 1-800-214-1306.

Honolulu MVP Program Recognized

This week the Honolulu Million Veteran Program (MVP) was recognized by the national directors of MVP for their exemplary work. It’s Public Service Week, and traditionally this is a time to recognize good work done by public service employees. Our MVP research team has collected data that contributes to cutting-edge research that improves Veterans lives, and both I and the directors of their program are extremely grateful for all their hard work. The day-to-day rigor of research can sometimes make people forget about the larger picture. In spite of this, the truth is that collecting data every day is an integral part of research, and the breakthroughs the VA has made in medicine is owed entirely to those on the ground collecting data and recording findings. Thank you to the Honolulu MVP team.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Every May, VA joins the nation to observe Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. This month recognizes the many achievements by Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage that have contributed to our country.

AANHPIs have served honorably in the United States military. The first AANHPI individual to reach general officer rank was Brigadier General Albert Lyman (1885-1942), who was Hawaiian and Chinese American and the commanding general of the 32nd Army Division that fought in the Leyte campaigns in the Philippines in World War II. The highest ranked AANHPI in the military was former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, who was a four-star general and the Army Chief of Staff.

AANHPIs are the fastest growing racial group in the U.S. Between 2000 and 2019, the AANHPI population grew 81%, faster than any other racial group in the nation during that time. By 2060, AANHPIs are expected to increase over four times as rapidly as the total U.S. population and grow to more than 47 million.

According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand and Vietnam is Asian. A Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander is a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa or other Pacific Islands.

Although AANHPIs have helped build a strong and vibrant U.S., many still face linguistic, economic, educational and immigration barriers that often hinder them from achieving their full potential. The “model minority myth” – the belief that AANHPI “success” makes them different and better than other communities of color – masks the real barriers to success that some communities face and has prevented AANHPIs from fully benefitting from federal programs and resources available to vulnerable and underserved communities.

National Physical Fitness and Sports Month

VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS) has a lot of programs that encourage physical activity. The Veteran’s Administration is currently gearing up for the 12th “VA2K.” This is an event designed to support employee health, and to help support homeless programs by collecting donations. Since 2011, more than $2.7 million in donations have been collected, and the boost to employee health and morale is hard to calculate. It’s a motivational event that drives healthy habits and fun. Anyone wishing to donate can do so via the donation box at the Spark Matsunaga Ambulatory Care Center (ACC,) or at either the Windward Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) or the Leeward CBOC. 

Nursing Month

During May VA is celebrating Nurses’ Month. These past two years have been especially challenging. We’ve been working diligently to protect our veterans, peers, and families, and navigate through surges and staffing issues, all while maintaining the level of quality care our veterans deserve. It hasn’t been easy for anyone. I want you to know we recognize the effort put in by our nurses, and we are humbled by their service. While the COVID-19 pandemic continues, VAPIHCS also continues moving forward, to improve, advance, and enhance our services. We know we’re not out of the woods just yet. COVID-19 is still prevalent, and our veterans are depending on us to provide the care they have earned.

Last year, we embarked on a journey toward modernization, with the goal to maximize our Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) model, and ensure our professionals are working at the top of their licensure, with the structure and support to succeed. Nurses are a key component of our success, and we appreciate all that they are doing to support our veterans.

We are also proud of the following nursing accomplishments this year:

•            Continued our DAISY Award program to recognize our nursing staff and leaders
•            Initiated Nurse Leader Forums and All Nursing Town Halls
•            Implemented Care Coordination and Integrated Case Management
•            Integrating Chaplain inspirational message into Morning Reports  Employee Town Halls, and director’s weekly message.
•            Implementation of the Warrior to Soulmate program
•            Overcoming critical/crisis staffing throughout pandemic
•            Maintaining the Clinical Care Coordinator program
•            Creation and maintenance of Long COVID clinic
•            Completed the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Training
•            Applied and received special funding from the Innovation Accelerator Program to expand professional continuous glucose monitoring, starting at a few CBOCs
•            Improved HCC screening and Variceal Screening, where we are 2nd in the VISN and 4th in the Nation
•            Three staff graduated from our School at Work (SAW) program
•            Education provided COVID-19 vaccination training, numerous Lunch and Learns and more to provide professional development to nurses
•            Minor procedure and General Surgery clinic started, which decreased community wait times and brought care back to our specialty services
•            SC Podiatry nurse presented Nursing Foot/Wound assessment during nursing orientations and Lunch and Learns
•            Implementation of the Ortho Hub traveling provider program to increase access to orthopedic specialty services
•            Specialty Care Health Techs obtained certification as Credentialed Occupational Hearing Conservationists (COHC)
•            Hospital in Home team assisted CLC with VA Contracted Nursing home swabbing, community in-home swabbing, and more

Nurses have been at the forefront during our COVID-19 response. Our nurses have worked tirelessly to provide care throughout this difficult time, and we are thankful for that. Mahalo for taking care of our veterans, and please remember to take time for yourself too. You are our most important resource, and I am proud to serve alongside each of you. 

A Note from Chaplain Richie Charles

In light of Mother’s Day approaching, I thought it best to focus on the theme of gratitude. Mothers, much like all of us, love to feel appreciated; but have you ever found yourself wanting to express gratitude, but wanted to do so in a way that was genuine and conveyed the depth of how you felt? Well, help for this might come from an unexpected place: art.   

Painting and poems are really, “thank you notes” to the different parts of the world that the artist is seeking to portray. A painting might be an expression of gratitude for the way the sun sets in the springtime, or the way the ocean breeze animates the tame waters. The artist is saying that I noticed something remarkable that really impacted me, and it has enough value for me to capture and reproduce it for someone else’s enjoyment.  
 
But what sets great art apart from mediocre art is the level of detail with which the artist noticed and portrayed the beauty they just saw. A talented artist, first and foremost, is someone who takes us into the specifics of the reasons why an experience or a place felt valuable. They don’t merely tell us that spring is ‘nice’, they zero in on the contributing factors that made that experience nice, such as the leaves that have the softness of a newborn’s hands, or the rain drops trickling down purple tulips.  

The more the artist, or poet, moves from the generalities of an experience to specifics, in describing what that they’re portraying, the more the scenes come alive to our minds. And gratitude is much the same: Showing gratitude works best the more specific we can express it.  We, like the artist, are surrounded by loved ones and colleagues with different attributes and skillsets that make their presence both a joy and a blessing. And when we pause to notice and express the goodness that we see in each other – whether a mother or fellow colleague, the more in detail we can tell another why we’re grateful for their presence, the more encouraging and genuine our expressions of gratitude will feel when we tell them.  

Happy Mothers’ Day to all our mothers!

One Team, One Ohana!
Adam M. Robinson, Jr., MD, MBA, CPE 
Director, VA Pacific Islands Health Care System
VADM, MC, USN, (RET)
36th Surgeon General, USN