Federal Reports

This Office of Inspector General (OIG) Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program report provides a focused evaluation of the quality of care delivered in the inpatient and outpatient settings of the Salem VA Medical Center in Virginia. The inspection covered key clinical and administrative processes that are associated with promoting quality care. It focused on Leadership and Organizational Risks; COVID-19 Pandemic Readiness and Response; Quality, Safety, and Value; Registered Nurse Credentialing; Medication Management: Remdesivir Use in VHA; Mental Health: Emergency Department and Urgent Care Center Suicide Risk Screening and Evaluation; Care Coordination: Inter-facility Transfers; and High-Risk Processes: Management of Disruptive and Violent Behavior.At the time of the OIG inspection, the medical center’s leaders, except the Assistant Director, had worked together for over one year. Employee satisfaction survey data revealed opportunities for the Associate Director–Patient/Nursing Services to improve employee attitudes toward leaders and the workplace. Overall, results for inpatient and patient-centered medical home experience surveys were generally higher for both genders when compared to the corresponding VHA averages. However, survey results highlighted an opportunity for leaders to improve female patients’ ability to obtain urgent specialty care appointments.The OIG’s review of the medical center’s accreditation findings, sentinel events, and disclosures did not identify any substantial organizational risk factors. The leaders were able to speak in depth about actions taken during the previous 12 months to maintain or improve organizational performance, employee satisfaction, or patient experiences.The OIG issued two recommendations for improvement in two areas:(1) Care Coordination• Monitoring and evaluation of patient transfers(2) High-Risk Processes• Disruptive behavior committee meeting attendance

This interim report presents the results of our self-initiated audit of mail delivery, customer service, and property conditions at the Lewis Center Main Office in Lewis Center, OH (Project Number 22-042). The Lewis Center Main Office is in the Ohio-2 District of the Central Area and services ZIP Code 43035, which serves about 24,760 people in what is considered an urban community. We judgmentally selected the Lewis Center Main Office based on the number of stop-the-clock (STC) scans occurring at the delivery unit, rather than at the customer’s delivery address.

This interim report presents the results of our self-initiated audit of mail delivery, customer service, and property conditions at the South Columbus Station in Columbus, OH (Project Number 22-043). The South Columbus Station is in the Ohio-2 District of the Central Area and services ZIP Code 432071 which serves about 45,1622 people and is considered an urban community. We judgmentally selected the South Columbus Station based on the number of customer inquiries per route that the unit received. From August 1 through October 31, 2021, the unit received 14.94 inquiries per route, which was more than the average of 7.60 inquiries per route for all sites serviced by the Columbus, OH, Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC).

This interim report presents the results of our self-initiated audit of mail delivery, customer service, and property conditions at the East City Annex in Columbus, OH (Project Number 22-044). The East City Annex is in the Ohio 2 District of the Central Area. The carrier annex services ZIP Codes 43201, 43203, 43205, and 43210. There are about 64,494 people living in these ZIP Codes, which are considered urban communities. We judgmentally chose the East City Annex based on the number of stop-the-clock (STC) scans occurring at the delivery unit, rather than at the customer’s delivery address.

Surface Transfer Centers (STC) are contracted mail facilities that distribute, consolidate, dispatch, and transfer all mail classes within the surface network. They also divert mail volume from air to surface transportation and serve as a concentration point for consolidating mail from under-utilized surface trips. There are 13 STCs in the U.S. Postal Service network, four of which are in the Southern Region. These facilities are an integral part of the Postal Service’s plan to optimize its transportation by moving more mail on the surface network.