New Mexico Veteran's Affairs Healthcare System business concept

New Mexico Veteran's Affairs Healthcare System

Business Concept

The New Mexico Veteran's Affairs Healthcare System (NMVHCS) is a provider of healthcare to American veterans and their families throughout New Mexico and Arizona, due to their membership in the Veteran's Integrated Service Network (VISN) 18, which spans those states in addition to Texas. The NMVHCS is funded through the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, and was established to provide veterans with healthcare throughout the three-state region. The service concept of the NMVHCS is to give veterans the opportunity to obtain premium healthcare at minimal cost to themselves and their families. In addition, the (VISN) 18 network makes specialists available network-wide for veterans and their families in need of care.

Current situation

Today the NMVHCS actively seeks out veterans to assist with their healthcare needs, and given its subsidy from the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, the NMVHCS has been able to stay competitive in terms of services offered by outside healthcare organizations. The challenge the NMVHCS finds itself in today is the rapidly aging population of baby boomers, many of them having fought in Vietnam, some from the first Iraq war ten years ago, and several from the current Iraq war. The need for growing the centers and the entire network is clear from the increase in aging baby boomers and wounded soldiers from Iraq returning home to these states, yet still in need of care and for many of the wounded, physical therapy.

Key success factors

The following are the key success factors for the NMVHCS:

Reward and recognize exceptional service performance - This is critical to keep the level of service to veterans in need of care up at levels that surpass private hospital care.

Recruiting doctors and nurses from regional colleges and universities who speak Spanish - The multilingual aspect of service in the NMVHCS is critical to also plan for today, as many of the patients are bilingual, and their families speak more Spanish than English in some instances. In addition, the costs of moving and recruiting local talent is much less than trying to bring in professionals from distant locations.

Working with the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs to define future growth plans - This is also critical as more and more patients age and require specialized services. The NMVHCS needs to continue working with the Department of Veteran's Affairs to plan for and respond to the needs of the aging veteran's population.

Financial situation/needs

As the NMVHCS is completely funded by the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, their financial needs are budgeted as part of that federal agency.

Opportunities

There are many opportunities for the NMVHCS to increase its value to the patients it serves. Here are several ideas on how the NMVHCS can increase its value:

Expand the (VISN) 18 network to include more specialists on aging - The need for more geriatric specialists is going to come in the next ten years for the NMVHCS, and it's time to start planning for that now.

Online reservation systems needed - The NMVHCS also could put their reservation systems online for each clinic to give patients the opportunity to register online for their treatment.

Integrate with dental care for the veterans in remote regions - The NMVHCS needs to also consider adding in a dental practice for those veterans who are located in the farther areas of the three states served.

Health care education programs - These are also critical as part of the NMVHCS outreach to veterans in the area in need of specialized assistance. Creating these programs would be of great value to veterans who may not know NMVHCS is there to help them.