Inspection of Select Vet Centers in Pacific District 5 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 four randomly selected vet centers throughout Pacific district 5 zone 1: Anchorage, Alaska; Eugene, Oregon; and Everett and Walla Walla, Washington.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 the VA medical facility mental health executive council meetings resulting in one recommendation for two of four vet centers inspected. The consultation, supervision, and training review identified concerns with external clinical consultation, vet center director monthly chart reviews, and completion of select trainings resulting in two recommendations across three of four 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 four vet centers inspected. The environment of care review evaluated vet centers’ physical environment and general safety resulting in eight recommendations across three of the four vet centers inspected.The OIG issued a total of 12 recommendations for improvement