VA-Army Agreement Helping Transform Health Care for Patients

WASHINGTON  – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of the Army are working together to provide cutting-edge simulation-based training for medical staff to enhance the quality of patient care at VA medical facilities across the Nation.

“This agreement between the VA and the U.S. Army strengthens an important relationship that helps VA deliver better health care and value for all of our Nation’s Veterans. It also allows VA to make the best and most cost-effective purchases of simulation equipment, while also moving us toward system-wide standardized simulation training,” said Dr. Robert A. Petzel, VA Under Secretary for Health.

The $5 million agreement utilizes the expertise of the Army’s Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) to provide support and services for simulation equipment and supplies acquisition in support of VA’s Simulation Learning, Education and Research Network (SimLEARN) Program.

The SimLEARN Program was established by VA to develop national simulation-based clinical training throughout its more than 150 medical centers around the Nation. As the Army’s acquisition agency for simulation and training devices, PEO STRI has unique expertise in the area of acquisition services for medical instruction and related program management services. PEO STRI has established equipment and technology requirements to support its nationally recognized simulation-based medical training programs.

“This agreement certainly joins our active and retired service men and women in a way they’ve never been connected before,” he said.  “The cutting-edge modeling and simulation expertise that our combat medics and combat lifesavers receive for treating active duty Soldiers will be leveraged for supporting the training efforts of medical personnel who care for our veterans.  It’s truly a win-win situation for our nation’s heroes.”

About SimLEARN: VA’s SimLEARN program is designed to improve care for America’s Veterans by providing a safe and supportive environment in which practitioners master skills, practice protocols, learn system-based practices, apply critical decision making, and promote improved team communication and functioning.  To learn more about the  SimLEARN program, visit www.simlearn.va.gov.

About PEO STRI: Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., the U.S. Army PEO STRI executes an annual budget of more than $3 billion. In addition to providing interoperable training and testing solutions and program management, PEO STRI provides life-cycle support for the Army’s most advanced training systems around the world. PEO STRI is dedicated to putting the power of simulation into the hands of our Warfighters.