VHA Drone Health Connect: A Vision Takes Flight

Hosted by James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and in collaboration with Tampa International Airport, this landmark event brought together VA leaders and innovators, industry experts, and community stakeholders to explore the transformative potential of drone technology in expanding access to care and improving operational efficiency for Veterans nationwide.

The urgent need for such advancements is underscored by pressing challenges, particularly for Veterans and their Caregivers facing mobility issues, living in rural areas, or impacted by natural disasters. Veterans can face critical barriers to essential medical supplies, such as life-saving medications or even basic communication during emergencies caused by disruption in services, leaving Veterans isolated from care. The increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters, as demonstrated by recent major events like Hurricanes Helene and Milton which caused widespread evacuations, rescues, and damage to key infrastructure, highlight critical vulnerabilities in health care delivery systems that drones can address.

VA has already demonstrated the power of innovative access models through their rideshare program, which helps Veterans reliably attend appointments by leveraging existing transportation networks rather than building new infrastructure. Dr. Sandal led the development of this successful initiative during its pivotal growth phase. Building on that success, leaders are now exploring how similar approaches can extend care beyond the clinic—further redefining access. David Dunning, Acting Network Director, VISN 8 (VA Sunshine Healthcare Network), highlighted VA’s forward-thinking approach: “Rideshare brought the Veteran to us. Now the question is—how do we reach out and bring healthcare, access, and quality of life to the Veteran where they live?”

Spearheading this vital initiative is Dr. Indra Sandal, Chief Innovation Officer and Center Director of the National Center for Transformational Innovation (NC4TI) at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital. Dr. Sandal's vision has laid the foundation for VDHC, recognizing the immense potential of integrating cutting-edge drone technology to strengthen supply chain resilience and serve Veterans where they are located. The VDHC program aims to expand access to care for isolated Veterans, while simultaneously enhancing operational efficiency. As Dr. Sandal puts it, "This is innovation with purpose. Drones aren't just technology; they are a way to reach Veterans who otherwise face real barriers to care"

A Collaborative Summit: Igniting Drone Innovation for Veteran Care

The two-day summit served as a critical catalyst, bringing together approximately 73 leaders and innovators from across the healthcare, technology, and public sectors. This included 45 VA clinicians and staff from seven VISN 8 VA facilities, representing a wide array of critical departments such as pharmacy, Spinal Cord Injury, mental health, social services, supply chain, technology, and Veteran Experience. These VA leaders were introduced to the technology from 19 speakers and 5 subject matter experts from the drone industry, academia, and community sectors stakeholders, including representatives from Florida State University, the City of Tampa, Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Florida Department of Transportation, and Tampa International Airport.

Day one of the summit was dedicated to "Drone Industry Presentations," where attendees gained a comprehensive understanding of state-of-the-art drone technology capabilities and their real-world health care applications. This immersive experience highlighted the impact drone technology can have and led to a remarkable leap in participants' understanding of drone delivery technology capabilities to significantly enhance their ability to identify the potential benefits and risks of using drones for medical deliveries to Veterans. 

Justin Hall, District Seven Director of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), reinforced the strategic relevance of the VHA Drone Health Connect Summit during his Keynote address. By highlighting Florida’s shift from planning to execution in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), Hall emphasized how electric, hybrid, and autonomous aircraft can expand capabilities in medical delivery and emergency response—directly aligning with VA priorities. Supported by new legislation (SB 1662), testing environments like SunTrax Air, and strong industry and academic partnerships, Florida is building the infrastructure to scale AAM statewide. With initial commercial operations expected by late 2026, these efforts are laying the groundwork to help VA programs expand access to care, particularly for rural and disaster-impacted Veterans.

Day two pivoted to a "Use-case Development Workshop." Here, VA leaders and subject matter experts worked collaboratively, leveraging the insights gained from the previous day. They delved into real-world challenges faced by Veterans and developed concepts of operation for high-priority scenarios. This hands-on approach enabled participants to creatively explore drone technology integration. It led to a profound shift in their understanding of the key operational requirements for health care delivery workflows and substantially enhanced their ability to articulate how drone delivery can address VA challenges.

The Vision: Enhanced Care Through Drones

Through this intensive experience, eight teams of VA staff collaboratively evaluated the feasibility and potential impact of drone delivery across several use-cases. These scenarios addressed critical needs, such as improving lab analysis response times, enabling specimen collection from rural, homebound Veterans, and providing near-immediate delivery of urgent replacement medical devices. They also explored direct-to-Veteran delivery of scheduled, non-urgent Durable Medical Equipment, ensuring medication access for Veterans isolated by hurricanes, enabling rapid pharmacy inventory evacuation between VA facilities, developing capabilities for large-package, long-distance delivery to rural Veterans, and enhancing access to care for pop-up locations serving Veterans experiencing homelessness. Insights and engagement from VA staff are essential to the initiative’s discovery phase, ensuring drone technology implementation creates meaningful impact for Veterans and addresses their needs.

John Michel, Associate Director of Medical Services with the Paralyzed Veterans of America, emphasized the profound impact for their constituency: "For our Veterans, many of whom live in rural areas or have severe mobility challenges, this is going to be a game changer. It's going to improve their quality of life and improve their health outcomes."

VA attendees gained a collective 462 in-person learning hours, representing the exciting next steps and stakeholder engagement for the VHA Drone Health Connect program. The success of the VDHC Summit, held at a hub of transportation innovation like Tampa International Airport, has generated significant momentum, bringing together the different industry, community, and VA stakeholders who would be involved in drone deliveries, paving the way for pilot programs in Fiscal Year 2027.

Brett Fay, Vice President of General Aviation at Tampa International Airport, underscored the significance of the summit's location and collaborative spirit: “When considering drones in this context, airports are intrinsically linked to the airspace and ecosystem. Bringing this event to the heart of the airport, to the center of it all, makes perfect sense. It’s about gathering key stakeholders together to collaborate, communicate, and help solve this critical problem.”

This collaborative spirit, coupled with the innovative application of drone technology, promises to expand access to care, improve operational efficiencies, and ultimately, deliver better health outcomes for Veterans.