Targeting Increased Access
Battle Creek VA Medical Center highlights some recent steps taken to increase timely Access to Care for our Veterans.
The Battle Creek VA Health Care System continues to be a leader in providing Access to care for Veterans. It has been one of the six priorities in our Strategic Plan for 2015-2017. See more about the Battle Creek VA Health Care System Strategic Plan here.
In 2015, we finished the year with an average wait time of 1.91 days for Primary Care, 2.43 days for Mental Health, and 6.96 days for Specialty Care. We completed 97% of all appointments within 30 days. See the full 2015 Battle Creek VA Health Care System Annual Report here. Even with this focus on Access, there is still room to make improvements. “Our staff is committed to delivering the best care possible for the Veterans we serve,” said Dr. Mary Beth Skupien, Battle Creek VA Medical Center Director. “Our employees are focused on continuous daily improvement and putting the Veterans at the center of all we do,” said Skupien.
“ Our staff is committed to delivering the best care possible for the Veterans we serve.”
The VA is conducting the next National Access Stand Down on February 27, 2016. Here are some highlights of recent steps taken at Battle Creek. We are offering expanded hours and have increased appointments for key specialty areas such as Neurology and Audiology. We have put together a team to conduct a LEAN forward rapid process improvement workgroup examining the process for Mental Health scheduling to see if there are efficiencies to gain. Representatives from Veterans Service Organizations and Congressional Offices were recently invited to participate in a meeting to discuss successes and opportunities for improvement within the Battle Creek VA Health Care System. We continue to make great progress on providing care at the right time for the Veterans we serve.
On Saturday, February 27, 2016, we are providing additional appointment opportunities in Battle Creek, Wyoming Health Care Center, and our Lansing CBOC in the areas of Audiology, Mental Health, Primary Care, Comp & Pension, Traumatic Brain Injury and new enrollees.
The Battle Creek VA Health Care System will continue to focus on increasing timely Access to Care to provide the right services at the right time for our Veterans.
