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UPMC Altoona, Van Zandt launch nurse liaison project

Program aims to guide veterans through issues tied to health care

UPMC Altoona and the Van Zandt VA Medical Center on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding under which Van Zandt registered nurses will be stationed at the civilian hospital to guide veteran patients through administrative issues connected with their health care.

It’s the beginning of the second phase of a Community Nurse Liaison Program that began in Pennsylvania in 2022 with an agreement between Lebanon VA Medical Center and three UPMC hospitals near Harrisburg — with Van Zandt and UPMC Altoona the next pairing in a sequence that will involve four other UPMC hospitals in western Pennsylvania later this year.

Community liaison nurses will help veterans who come to the Emergency Department or who are admitted to UPMC Altoona determine whether they’re eligible for VA health care support and enroll them when necessary; help them with admission and discharge planning; and assist in figuring out how to access post-discharge care like physical therapy, prescriptions and follow up appointments.

The program is “built for the convenience of the veteran,” said Van Zandt spokesman John Harlow, following a news conference at UPMC Altoona that included the ceremonial signing of the memorandum by Van Zandt Director Derek Coughenour and UPMC Altoona President Mike Corso.

When a veteran who may or may not already be enrolled in VA health care comes to the civilian hospital for “community care” beyond the scope of what Van Zandt offers, like treatment for a stroke or a knee replacement, the nurse liaison will help ensure that “all (he or she) needs to worry about is being sick — and getting better,” said Harlow, a veteran who has received care at UPMC Altoona that is covered by VA health care.

Recently, the Van Zandt community nurse liaison already embedded at UPMC Altoona intervened in the case of a veteran who showed up with a stroke, informed the family that the veteran was eligible for VA health care coverage of the costs and helped arrange for post-discharge care, according to Dr. Jennifer Harbaugh, Van Zandt’s chief of community care.

UPMC is partnering with Van Zandt under the auspices of a Veteran Care Services division the civilian hospital organization created in 2019 to receive, process and coordinate VA referrals under the VA’s Community Care program, according to Marc Migala, director of veteran care services for UPMC.

Migala’s program has expanded since its founding and now includes “internal care coordination, billing, records transfers and workflows,” he said at the news conference.

The VA-UPMC partnership helps to quickly identify veterans who come for community care; has increased the number of transfers from UPMC hospitals to VA inpatient units; decreased lengths of in-hospital stays; increased VA enrollment and enrollment “repatriation”; and has increased instances of veterans getting primary care, social service help and supportive housing through the VA, according to Coughenour.

The program has helped UPMC staffers learn about problems that particularly afflict veterans, including exposure to toxic smoke and “suicide ideation,” according to Migala.

It has helped make interactions between the federal and civilian health care systems more “seamless,” Migala said.

“This helps bridge the gap,” Harbaugh said.

About a quarter of veterans enrolled at Van Zandt also use community care, Harbaugh said.

Currently, there’s one community liaison nurse at UPMC Altoona, working Mondays to Fridays.

The parties look to expand that presence, as they already need to supplement the nurse’s work.

“This program provides a clear framework for developing new and innovative ways to optimize existing resources to better meet the needs of veterans in need of care,” Coughenour said.

“Today is about setting a path and standard for care our veterans receive when they come to us,” Corso said.

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