Director's Message September 9, 2022
This weekend marks the anniversary of the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. The damage that was done to lives, property, and the American spirit that day was significant.
However, I have also always remembered the strength with which our nation came together in the weeks and months that followed. I remember the first responders and the Coast Guard who rushed in to help. I remember the way people volunteered to help their neighbors. I remember the way we mourned together as one people, and how we showed our best and most meaningful qualities as we recovered. I hope everyone will take a moment to reflect this weekend on this event in history, and about what it means to be an American.
Reproductive Rights at VA
Currently VA provides fertility services, menopause care, emergency contraceptives and lifesaving treatments related to pregnancy such as medical care for miscarriages. Under federal authority VA can also offer abortion counseling and can perform abortions when the life or health of the pregnant veteran would be endangered if the pregnancy were carried to full-term, or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. VA providers are able to provide this care within their scope of practice. Providers who wish to exercise their right to conscientious exemption will have that honored. Not all services will be available at all facilities, nor are all facilities equipped to provide abortion services.
It is important to realize that not all people differentiate between a VA CBOC, a VA Regional Office, a VA Readjustment Counseling Services, and a Medical Campus. The services provided at each of these sites may be unknown to individuals who wish to protest or commit acts of violence against the VA. It is my hope that people will respect this national policy, which VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS) did not determine, but which we will comply with where possible. Please everyone be respectful and safe as we continue our mission to provide safe, compassionate, quality care to the men and women who have worn the cloth of our nation.
Monkeypox Treatment
As of August 15, 2022, 101 veterans who receive VA care have been diagnosed with monkeypox at 29 different VA medical facilities. All of these veterans are receiving exceptional care from our medical, nursing, and infection control staff. VA follows CDC’s clinical, infection control, and contact investigation guidance. Updated information can be found at Information For Healthcare Professionals | Monkeypox | Poxvirus | CDC.
There are currently no antiviral therapies approved by the FDA for the treatment of monkeypox; however, antiviral therapies developed against smallpox are available from the CDC as investigational drugs. VA has signed a reliance agreement with CDC’s human subject protection committee to access these drugs when indicated to treat patients with severe monkeypox.
The only vaccine currently licensed against monkeypox, called JYNNEOS™, had been in very short supply and is currently only available from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). VA received an initial allocation of 13,000 vials (up to 65,000 doses) of JYNNEOS™ monkeypox vaccine from Department of Health and Human Services in August. VA will continue to receive additional allocation of vials of JYNNEOS™ to reduce the spread of monkeypox as more product is available within the supply chain. This relatively scarce resource will be distributed based on the proportion of Veterans at risk served by the facility and the activity of the epidemic in the immediate community.
A large proportion of the veteran population has been immunized against smallpox (which provides some cross-protection against monkeypox). In addition to veterans born prior to 1972, when routine smallpox vaccination efforts ceased, about 500,000 veterans were immunized since the early 2000s as part of the military’s preparedness against biological warfare agents. It is unclear how much protection is conferred by smallpox immunization, and eligible veterans will receive any required vaccine regardless of vaccines they may have received during their military service.
VHA has also formed a Monkeypox Coordination Team led by Dr. Gio Baracco, Senior Advisor on Emerging Infections. This group is working expeditiously with field and program office stakeholders and subject matter experts to provide clinical guidance to the field; procure and distribute vaccines in a transparent and equitable manner; expand our monkeypox testing capacity, currently only available through the VA Public Health reference Laboratory in Palo Alto, California; create surveillance and analytic tools; leverage our research expertise and resources to develop a VA monkeypox research agenda and launch appropriate studies; and develop communications products for the staff and our veterans. VAPIHCS will continue to share information as it is provided to us to ensure that veterans can make informed health care choices.
MyHealtheVet
MyHealtheVet (www.myhealth.va.gov) is our premier online patient health portal that helps veterans engage with their health care and is accessible anywhere that you have internet access. MyHealtheVet was first launched in 2003 and now has several tools and resources in one convenient place. The main features include Rx Refill, View/Request Appointments, Secure Messaging, and viewing personal VA Health Records. MyHealtheVet empowers veterans by connecting them to their providers to manage their overall health, make informed health decisions, record, store, and share important health and military history information.
Veterans are also now able to provide Patient Generated Health Data (PGHD) directly to providers through the Shared Vitals feature. The Shared Vitals tool allows patients to record vitals taken in the convenience of their home and share them with their providers. Providers may track the Shared Vitals through the VA Virtual Care Manager to compare and chart vitals taken at home or at a VA Facility. More features are being developed to integrate more devices in the future. Currently, shared vitals include blood pressure, blood sugar, body temperature, body weight, heart rate, pain, pulse oximetry, and respiratory rate.
Another developing change to MyHealtheVet is the New Unified Sign-in. The Unified Sign-in is a two-factor secured sign-in that requires veterans to use both User ID/Password and a code which may be given by text or phone call. Once a veteran is signed with through the New Unified Sign-in, they will be able to navigate through all VA Web Portals and Apps without having to sign-in again during a single session. This means that they may go from www.va.gov, to www.myhealth.va.gov, to Beneficiary Travel or Online VA Appointment Requests. This requires the veteran to have a PREMIUM MyHealtheVet Account.
A Premium MyHealtheVet Account is free, and simply means that the veteran has been verified by matching them with an official Government Photo ID to the patient record. A Premium MyHealtheVet account will give veterans the maximum access to using the online features of www.va.gov for VA Benefits and www.myhealth.va.gov for VA Medical Services. A Premium account will also allow the veteran to use other VA Online Tools and Apps through personal computer or mobile devices. If you or a veteran would like to upgrade to Premium, they may sign-in using a verified Sign-in Partner Account (Login.gov, DS Logon, or ID.me), or contact the MyHealtheVet Coordinator at 808-433-0419 to schedule a VA Video Connect to verify the Veterans ID.
The most popular features veterans use MyHealtheVet for is refilling medications, viewing VA appointments, and Secure Messaging with VA Providers. Secure Messaging is a valuable tool at our facility and continues to grow users taking advantage of the convenience. Veterans and providers can communicate clearly without the limitations of poor phone connections, or inability to determine the identity of the individual. Since Secure Messaging is part of the Veterans Medical Record, users can identify the sender of the messages and establish a dialog to resolve medical inquiries.
If veterans have any questions about MyHealtheVet, Secure Messaging, or any of the online features available you may contact Matthew Handel, your MyHealtheVet Coordinator or Program Office directly at 808-433-0419.
Thoughts From Chaplain Richie Charles
Honeybees are some of the best examples of what it means to collaborate as a team.
The Bees think collaboratively.
Whenever a bee colony gets too large that it cannot accommodate additional honeybees, the honeybees swarm and gather at a location with the goal of finding a new home. A number of the honeybees then begin scouting for a new location for the colony. When they return, they report their findings about each site; but they communicate by doing a “waggle dance”. The bees representing various potential sites will have their own form of a debate and will even cast votes to decide on the next best move. Regardless of how convinced an individual bee thinks their site was, the bees collaborate to vote on a final group decision. Bees reveal that part of what it means to think collaboratively is to value the voice of everyone on a team.
Bees value unity.
Bees all have different roles, but they unite for the sake of the overall mission. In fact, bees can be so united that they have been referred to as a “superorganism”. That is, they work so collaboratively, thousands of individual bees function as a unified whole. The key to their effectiveness is their willingness to cooperate for the success of the overall colony, not merely their silo.
Bees make an impact that lasts forever.
The honey produced by bees is truly a natural marvel. In its raw, natural state, honey is one of the few food items that does not spoil when preserved under the right conditions. In fact, archeologists found pots of honey in Egyptians tombs that were two – three thousand years old, yet the honey was still preserved! In our service to Veterans, it is good to be reminded that at the end of the day, what truly lasts forever is the impact that we make upon people. Like honey, it might be the only thing we produce that never expires.
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
Stay Informed
Website: hawaii.va.gov – submit your email to get our updates
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VAPacificIslands/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/va_pacific_islands/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PAOOffice1
Podcast: https://vapihcspao.podbean.com/
Weekly Radio VA Updates:
Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. on AM830,KHVH with Rick Hamada