Evolution of the Veterans Health Administration's Role in Emergency Management Since September 11, 2001

Dobalian, Aram; Callis, R.W.; Davey, Victoria J.

doi:10.1001/dmp.2011.61

Cited by 14 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(10 reference statements)

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“…Second, it addresses a historical disparity in female healthcare providers who can respond to the gender-sensitive demands for a historically underserved demographic. The DEMPS volunteer program addresses an important need to identify and deploy trained health personnel in order to provide an effective response and comply with the VA’s emergency management mission [45]. Our findings regarding readiness to deploy may also apply to other emergency response programs such as the Medical Reserve Corps and the American Red Cross.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 73%

Factors influencing readiness to deploy in disaster response: findings from a cross-sectional survey of the Department of Veterans Affairs Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System

Zagelbaum¹,

Heslin²,

Stein³

et al. 2014

BMC Emerg Med

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BackgroundThe Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) program provides a system of volunteers whereby active or retired Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) personnel can register to be deployed to support other VA facilities or the nation during national emergencies or disasters. Both early and ongoing volunteer training is required to participate.MethodsThis study aims to identify factors that impact willingness to deploy in the event of an emergency. This analysis was based on responses from 2,385 survey respondents (response rate, 29%). Latent variable path models were developed and tested using the EQS structural equations modeling program. Background demographic variables of education, age, minority ethnicity, and female gender were used as predictors of intervening latent variables of DEMPS Volunteer Experience, Positive Attitude about Training, and Stress. The model had acceptable fit statistics, and all three intermediate latent variables significantly predicted the outcome latent variable Readiness to Deploy.ResultsDEMPS Volunteer Experience and a Positive Attitude about Training were associated with Readiness to Deploy. Stress was associated with decreased Readiness to Deploy. Female gender was negatively correlated with Readiness to Deploy; however, there was an indirect relationship between female gender and Readiness to Deploy through Positive Attitude about Training.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that volunteer emergency management response programs such as DEMPS should consider how best to address the factors that may make women less ready to deploy than men in order to ensure adequate gender representation among emergency responders. The findings underscore the importance of training opportunities to ensure that gender-sensitive support is a strong component of emergency response, and may apply to other emergency response programs such as the Medical Reserve Corps and the American Red Cross.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 73%

Factors influencing readiness to deploy in disaster response: findings from a cross-sectional survey of the Department of Veterans Affairs Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System

Zagelbaum¹,

Heslin²,

Stein³

et al. 2014

BMC Emerg Med

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“…healthcare missions is to provide backup medical resources to both the military health system and to local communities following terrorist incidents and other major disasters [29]. As such, VA has responded to numerous national emergencies [30] and also provided care for non-Veterans during such events [30][31][32][33].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

2020

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Background Most U.S. studies on workforce preparedness have a narrow scope, focusing primarily on perceptions of clinical staff in a single hospital and for one type of disaster. In contrast, this study compares the perceptions of workplace disaster preparedness among both clinical and non-clinical staff at all U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities nationwide for three types of disasters (natural, epidemic/pandemic, and manmade). Methods The VA Preparedness Survey used a stratified simple random, web-based survey (fielded from October through December 2018) of all employees at VA medical facilities. We conducted bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to compare the sociodemographic characteristics and perceptions of disaster preparedness between clinical and non-clinical VA staff. Results The study population included 4026 VA employees (2488 clinicians and 1538 non-clinicians). Overall, VA staff were less confident in their medical facility’s ability to respond to epidemic/pandemics and manmade disasters. Depending on the type of disaster, clinical staff, compared to non-clinical staff, were less likely to be confident in their VA medical facility’s ability to respond to natural disasters (OR:0.78, 95% CI:0.67–0.93, p < 0.01), pandemics (OR:0.82, 95% CI:0.70–0.96, p < 0.05), and manmade disasters (OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.63–0.86, p < 0.001). On the other hand, clinicians, compared to non-clinicians, were 1.45 to 1.78 more likely to perceive their role in disaster response to be important (natural OR:1.57, 95% CI:1.32–1.87; pandemic OR:1.78, 95% CI:1.51–2.10; manmade: OR:1.45; 95% CI: 1.23–1.71; p’s < 0.001), and 1.27 to 1.29 more likely to want additional trainings to prepare for all three types of disasters (natural OR:1.29, 95% CI:1.10–1.51; pandemic OR:1.27, 95% CI:1.08–1.49; manmade OR:1.29; 95% CI:1.09–1.52; p’s < 0.01). Clinicians were more likely to be women, younger, and more educated (p’s < 0.001) than non-clinicians. Compared to clinicians, non-clinical staff had been employed longer with the VA (p < 0.025) and were more likely to have served in the U.S. Armed Forces (p < 0.001). Conclusions These findings suggest both a desire and a need for additional training, particularly for clinicians, and with a focus on epidemics/pandemics and manmade disasters. Training programs should underscore the importance of non-clinical roles when responding to disasters.

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“…In addition to providing healthcare for veterans, the United States Veterans Health Administration (VHA), part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), is charged with improving the Nation’s preparedness for response to war, terrorism, national emergencies, and natural disasters by developing plans and taking actions to ensure continued service to veterans, as well as supporting national, state, and local emergency management, public health, safety and homeland security efforts 1 , 2 , 3. Under the National Response Framework of the United States (U.S.), VHA has support responsibility under 7 of the 15 Emergency Support Functions including emergency management, public health, and medical services.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Development of a Veterans Health Administration Emergency Management Research Agenda

et al. 2017

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Introduction: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the largest integrated healthcare delivery system in the United States, is charged with ensuring timely access to high-quality care for veterans during disasters, and supporting national, state, local, and tribal emergency management and homeland security efforts. In 2008, the VHA Office of Public Health (OPH) sponsored the first VHA Emergency Management Research Agenda-setting conference to develop research priorities that address the needs of veterans and to position VHA as a national leader in emergency management by having VHA serve as a "laboratory" for the development of evidence-based emergency management practices.

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Evolution of the Veterans Health Administration's Role in Emergency Management Since September 11, 2001

Abstract: decade since 9/11-a little-known but invaluable asset in the nation's armamentarium against local or widespread emergencies.

Cited by 14 publications

References 6 publications

Factors influencing readiness to deploy in disaster response: findings from a cross-sectional survey of the Department of Veterans Affairs Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System

Factors influencing readiness to deploy in disaster response: findings from a cross-sectional survey of the Department of Veterans Affairs Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System

Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

The Development of a Veterans Health Administration Emergency Management Research Agenda

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