Federal Reports

ARC awarded the grant to provide SCC funding support to expand its industrial technology and automotive (the Advanced Manufacturing and Automotive Technology) training programs to it new Cherokee County Campus (CCC).

The grant provided ARC funding to support a project entitled "Wallace State Community College Winston County Works" The project was designed to provide basic skills, workplace skills and technical training to residents in Winston County

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The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a healthcare inspection to address concerns regarding illicit fentanyl use and urine drug screening (UDS) practices at the Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (DRRTP), Bath VA Medical Center, New York. The Veterans Health Administration does not require treatment programs to routinely test for illicit drugs, such as fentanyl, that are trending in the community. In response to incidents involving fentanyl abuse by DRRTP residents, facility leaders amended the UDS policy to include an extended panel UDS that tests for fentanyl. Residents were randomly selected each day for an extended panel UDS. However, the extended panel UDS was processed by a non-VA laboratory with a turnaround time that compromised the timeliness of clinical intervention and overdose prevention. Facility leaders took additional actions to increase the identification of fentanyl use, including the tracking of positive UDS results. The OIG determined that the facility’s fiscal year 2017 positive UDS tracking data was inaccurate. Staff stated there was confusion interpreting the thresholds and some UDS results were incorrectly recorded. To assist DRRTP staff in identifying residents with a history of opioid use and a high-risk for suicide patient record flag, facility leaders implemented a practice of placing color-coded stickers on resident doors. The practice was discussed in the facility’s Mental Health Council meeting; however, key staff reported being unaware of its use for residents at high risk for suicide. OIG staff also found that Domiciliary Assistants did not have sufficient personal protective equipment or training to safely conduct contraband searches of residents’ rooms and belongings. The OIG made eight recommendations related to drug screening guidelines, regional drug abuse identification, timely laboratory turnaround times and result notifications, positive UDS tracking and monitoring, UDS results interpretation training, color-coded sticker practices, and contraband search personal protective equipment and training.

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a focused evaluation of the quality of care delivered in the inpatient and outpatient settings of the Battle Creek VA Medical Center (Facility). The review covered key clinical and administrative processes associated with promoting quality care—Leadership and Organizational Risks; Quality, Safety, and Value (QSV); Credentialing and Privileging; Environment of Care; Medication Management: Controlled Substances Inspection Program; Mental Health Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Care; Long-Term Care: Geriatric Evaluations; and Women’s Health: Mammography Results and Follow-Up. Two of four Facility leadership positions were filled by interim staff at the time of the OIG’s on-site visit. On April 1, 2018, the Chief of Staff assumed the Acting Director role, and the Chief of Dentistry took over responsibilities as the Acting Chief of Staff. The OIG noted that Facility leaders appear to be actively engaged with employees and were working to improve inpatient satisfaction scores. Organizational leaders support efforts related to patient safety, quality care, and other positive outcomes (such as initiating processes and plans to achieve and maintain positive perceptions of the Facility through active stakeholder engagement). The OIG did not identify any substantial organizational risk factors. Three of the four leaders were knowledgeable while the Acting Chief of Staff was still becoming familiar with selected Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL) metrics due to the limited time in the role. The leaders should take actions to improve performance of the Quality of Care and Efficiency metrics likely contributing to the current “2-Star” rating. The OIG noted findings in two of the clinical operations reviewed and issued three recommendations that are attributable to the Acting Director and Acting Chief of Staff. The identified areas with deficiencies are: (1) QSV • Required utilization management reviews (2) Credentialing and Privileging • Focused and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations