Spokane VA receives national award for hospital inpatient experience
VA’s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning announced during fiscal year 2022, Spokane’s Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center achieved the highest improvement in overall rating of Hospital inpatient experience throughout Veterans Health Administration and its 171 VA medical centers nationwide.
Dr. Brian Gavron, Chief, Acute Care Services accepted the award at VA Central Office in Washington D.C. in September. “The greatest honor we can get is to be recognized by the Veterans we serve,” smiled Dr. Gavron. “This award is a reflection of our team’s passion to serve our Veterans and vigilance for attending to every detail of patient care.”
Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center has more than 45,000 Veterans enrolled in VA care. At the end of each medical appointment or upon discharge from their inpatient care, Veterans can complete a patient experience questionnaire. The positive feedback from Veterans is what propelled Spokane VA to this great honor. Considering the recognition follows the world’s concern over the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing demand for more health care workers, Dr. Gavron explained the award is a true reflection of the care team’s “Veteran-centric” focus and “can-do” spirit VA has for our nation’s military Veterans seeking care through VA.
“This is a result of a complete team effort for everybody involved with inpatient care, including: nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, social work, providers, nutrition, environmental services, lab, radiology, consultants, and of course, discharge planning.” Dr. Gavron added, “the award also shows the quality of care Veterans are getting from our team in our outpatient clinics after their inpatient experience. And so, it’s a complete team effort and team approach. We’re extremely proud to see our Veterans complete their surveys. We work hard to address any concerns and we are proud when they appreciate the sincere and professional care we provide.”
Pictured holding the national award with Dr. Gavron, is Mrs. Jenny Calkins, RN, Nurse Manager ACU-ICU-Med Surge, who shared why the recognition is so special by stating the award is, “truly the voice of the Veteran and for nurses, that means more than anything when our patients say we’re doing an amazing job.”
Calkins, a 17-year employee at Spokane VA, and Kamiah, Idaho native, also noted how health care has changed after the pandemic, for not only VA, but throughout the health care industry. Still, she indicates the outcome of the pandemic is an even stronger commitment by the team at Spokane VA. “The surveys show that Veterans know we’re doing our best and everything in our power to help them get better and to make their stay and recovery as best as possible, even when patients aren’t feeling well, or even worse, at their lowest low. Their strength and service inspire us at VA to find our own inner-strength and persevere in our mission to serve our nation’s heroes with the quality health care they’ve earned. I am so proud of our entire team and our Veterans at VA,” thanked Calkins.