Inspection of Select Vet Centers in Midwest District 3 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. This inspection report evaluated four randomly selected vet centers throughout Midwest district 3 zone 1: Fort Wayne, Indiana; Detroit and Escanaba, Michigan; and Cincinnati, Ohio.

This OIG inspection focused on four review areas: suicide prevention; consultation, supervision, and training; outreach; and environment of care. The suicide prevention review evaluated vet center staff participation in VA medical facility mental health executive council meetings, resulting in one recommendation across three of the four inspected vet centers. The consultation, supervision, and training review evaluated external clinical consultation, monthly client record reviews, and completion of select trainings resulting in two recommendations related to external clinical consultation and training across all four inspected vet centers. The outreach review evaluated outreach plan completion, inclusion of strategic components, and tailoring of outreach activities to eligible individuals, which resulted in one recommendation across all four inspected vet centers. The environment of care review evaluated vet centers’ physical environment and general safety resulting in four recommendations across all four inspected vet centers and two recommendations to the Readjustment Counseling Service Chief Officer.

The OIG issued a total of 10 recommendations for improvement.