HJNO Nov/Dec 2019

dialogue 18 NOV / DEC 2019 I  Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS   standard quality measures, such as those tracked by CMS, and many more, that apply more specifically to the veteran population. We’re required by the VA MISSION Act to compare our performance to other hospi- tals in the community. The VA health care system compares favorably to every other hospital in the area in quality measures. As far as internal measures of quality, VAhospi- tals are evaluated quarterly using the Strate- gicAnalytics for Improvement and Learning Value Model (SAIL). We are a SAIL four-star facility, and we’re working on the fifth star. With regard to safety, our facility has earned the National Center for Patient Safety’s Gold Cornerstone Award for four years in a row. That is the highest award for VA hospital patient safety. Concerning the budget, we are under congressionally-mandated budget alloca- tions that vary from year to year. Unlike our traditional health care counterparts, our challenge may be greater to manage because we must work in an ever-chang- ing landscape. However, we use the same traditional fiscal models as other facilities. The difference is often that control is layers above us, and we don’t keep any profits for operating costs. Editor What is it like having a new VAHos- pital? How is it different than the older facility? Rivera I grew up in New Orleans, and I worked at the old VA hospital for 20 years. I saw firsthand what an asset it was to the community and the patients we serve, so I know what it meant to lose that. To have the opportunity to return to New Orleans and build this hospital, to give that to this city, it means a great deal to me. It’s actu- ally difficult to describe the feeling. It’s a sort of reawakening. It’s like coming home again, but then again, never really leav- ing. I am both humbled and honored every day to work and serve as the CEO of this VA health care system. I know that these patients, these heroes, deserve the best care anywhere. It’s a feeling like no other, know- ing that we are caring for those who have served and sacrificed so that we can sit here in freedom today. In fact, as I walk around the medical center every day, I see what it means to the veterans who see the place for the first time, or who are so grateful that we are here for them, caring for them. It’s like the words outside the facility say, “The price of freedom can be seen within these walls.” From the minute they walk in the door, they know they’re in a world-class facility built for them, and designed by them. It’s what they deserve, and I’m proud to be a part of the team that is making good on the prom- ises we make to the people who have served our country.