Inspection of Select Vet Centers in Continental District 4 Zone 1

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Vet Center Inspection Program provides a focused evaluation of aspects of the quality of care delivered at vet centers. The OIG inspected six randomly selected vet centers throughout Continental district 4 zone 1: Fort Collins, Colorado; Kalispell, Montana; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Abilene, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Cheyenne, Wyoming. The OIG inspection focused on four review areas: suicide prevention; consultation, supervision, and training; outreach; and environment of care. In the suicide prevention review, the OIG team evaluated vet center staff participation in VA medical facility mental health executive council meetings resulting in one recommendation across five of the six vet centers inspected. The consultation, supervision, and training review identified concerns with external clinical consultation, monthly client record reviews, and completion of select trainings resulting in three recommendations across all six vet centers inspected. The outreach review evaluated outreach plan completion, inclusion of strategic components, and tailoring of outreach activities to cultural background information identified in the plan which resulted in one recommendation across all six vet centers inspected. The environment of care review evaluated vet centers’ physical environment and general safety resulting in eight recommendations across five of the six vet centers inspected. The OIG issued a total of 13 recommendations for improvement.