Fayetteville VA Medical Center

Elizabeth Goolsby has served as the Medical Center Director at Fayetteville, North Carolina since July 4, 2010. She has the overall responsibility for planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling medical, administrative, and supporting operations of a health care system which administers medical care and treatment to veterans in 19 counties in North Carolina and 2 counties in South Carolina. She is Retired as a Colonel from the Army Nurse Corp.

Each year, we, along with other VA Medical Centers and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) across the country, are assessed by performance measures.  The intent of the measures is to serve as an assessment of how the organization is performing.  The selected measures are intended to focus on the priorities of the Department of Veterans Affairs and VISN 6.  Most of the selected measures are based upon sound business practices as well as good clinical practices.  These are not the only assessments used, but they are an important indicator for the Medical Center.   So how did we do during FY12?   The measures are divided into five elements – leading change, leading people, business acumen, building coalitions and results driven.

Leading change – This element included measures of finding innovation solutions to issues, progress toward organizational goals, implementation of PACT, eliminating homelessness, vesting of patients, dialysis occupancy, development of personalized health plans, and OR utilization.  We did very well on this element with achievement of goals in most areas.  We still have work to do on full implementation of PACTs but are making progress.

Leading people – This element included measures of workforce planning, effective EEO/ADR program, achieving  diversity hiring targets, completion of requests for reasonable accommodation, staff achieving resident/fellow levels in mentoring, succession planning, reducing overtime costs and reducing absenteeism (joint labor-management goal).  All of the measures were met except reducing absenteeism.
Business acumen – this element includes utilization of resources, management of purchase cards, information security practices, reduction of non-VA fee program (outpatient, short term fee costs), meeting construction obligation, management of our budget, reducing pharmacy costs, achieving MCCF collection goals, and reduction of inpatient fee program.   All of these measures were met.

Business acumen – This element includes utilization of resources, management of purchase cards, information security practices, reduction of non-VA fee program (outpatient, short term fee costs), meeting construction obligation, management of our budget, reducing pharmacy costs, achieving MCCF collection goals and reduction of inpatient fee program.   All of these measures were met.

Building coalitions – Collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, embracing core values of organization, promoting organizational health by using employee surveys and assessments, inpatient and outpatient satisfaction as measured by the SHEP and Press-Ganey surveys and satisfaction with front desk staff courtesy were included in this element.  We had significant challenges with this element in addressing patient satisfaction and front desk staff courtesy.  We have a lot of work to do in this area.                                                                                                         

Results driven – This element had a number of measures.  This included compliance and business integrity, access to specialty care, average daily census in home/community based services, timeliness in completion compensation and pension exams, quality of compensation and pension exams, clinical measures include ventilator acquired pneumonia and central line infections, women’s LDL and A1C levels, cleanliness of inpatient units, patient satisfaction with nurse and doctor communications, length of inpatient stays and appropriateness of continued              inpatient hospitalization.  Our challenges with this measure include access to specialty care, women’s health, patient satisfaction, and appropriateness of continued hospitalization.                                        

Together we have accomplished much this year in addressing our three priorities of access to care, being an employer of choice, and being a good steward of our resources, as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs and the VISN 6 priorities as these measures indicate.  As we head into FY13 we will continue to focus on what is best for our patients and our staff, together. 

Thank you for a very successful FY12 and your commitment to an even better FY13.