The 9 Line

Episode 43 - Practice How You Play

There are many professions and industries that have simulators to allow staff to practice high-pressure or important scenarios in a practice environment.  Airline pilots have very involved simulators that let them see what it is like to suffer any number of technical failures without putting lives and aircraft at risk and police have simulators that let them see what it is like to deal with potentially armed individuals or hostage situations without putting real lives in danger.  But did you know the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System also has a robust training facility that allows our staff to see any number of potentially life-threatening medical conditions so they can practice responding to them if they should ever occur in our hospital or clinics?

On this episode of The 9 Line, we talk to Dr. Eddie Avallone, Clinician Educator, and Quentin Hart, Simulation Coordinator about our Simulation Lab and how we use it to train staff to be ready for situations, how those training programs and situations are planned and tested, and how they decide on how to focus on what training our staff needs to see the most.  

Episode 42 - Safety First, Safety Always

The VA strives to provide care to patients that is safe, high quality, and centered on the needs of the patient.  But care like that doesn't just happen naturally, it takes a tremendous effort from a multitude of people to ensure the safety of our Veterans.  It involves not only the people who directly see a patient, but also supporting staff like our housekeepers and even the Veteran themselves.

 

On this episode of The Nine Line, we speak with representatives from Patient Safety and Quality, Safety, Value Departments to talk about the ways we create a culture of safety, some of the reporting methods to identify and correct potential patient safety concerns, and discuss some of the ways Veterans can be a part of the patient safety process.

Episode 41 - Fighting Homelessness

Homelessness is an issue that impacts every major city in America, but for a variety of reasons from weather to infrastructure, Las Vegas has the fourth highest rate of Veteran homelessness in the country.  There's also a lot of factors that contribute to an individual falling into housing insecurity, such as loss of employment, economic pressures, or even addiction.  All of those factors mean that combating homelessness is not an issue with a one-size-fits-all solution but rather must be confronted with a variety of different means.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we take a look at Veteran homelessness in Southern Nevada and speak with Liz Jarman, our Community Resource and Referral Center Program Coordinator, Gigi Simmons, HCHV Program Coordinator, and Danielle Zuber, HUD-VASH Supervisor about the many, many avenues the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System uses to help get homeless Veterans off of the streets.

Episode 40 - Keeping the Peace

When you think of a hospital, you may think of doctors, nurses, and medical examinations.  Chances are you probably don't think a hospital would have its own police force.  However, even though the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System has our own police force, our officers aren't out busting crime and solving mysteries.  They're primarily here to ensure a safe environment for both patients and providers and are one of the first resources called upon if there is ever a need to de-escalate a situation.

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Deputy Chief Travis Payne, and Captain Jim Karahalios about how the VA Police go about keeping everyone safe, what's on the horizon as the facility looks to keeping security a priority, and a little bit about the newest four-legged member of the force who will be on duty here soon.

Episode 39 - Suicide Prevention is Public Health

Every day, 17 Veterans take the actions to end their own life.  While this number is a decrease in years past, it is still entirely too high and a main reason that suicide prevention is one of the VA's highest priorities.  One of the key facets to this battle is fighting the loneliness and isolation a lot of Veterans feel both during the holidays and as weather changes, and also the transition from military life to civilian life with regards to routine and camaraderie.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Alphonso Gibbs Jr. and Ben Starks, two of our suicide prevention coordinators, about how we're looking at facing the challenges of socialization and loneliness as it impacts Veteran suicide and also how they're taking a public health approach to further reducing the number of suicides from 17 to 0.

Episode 37 - Looking Back On The Year

2021 has been a year of many hopes, and many challenges for the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System.  We've seen the hope brought by the COVID-19 vaccines, and the resurgence of COVID through the Delta variant, in addition to a record number of unique Veterans to our facilities and any number of patient care success stories we've shared with you throughout the year.

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with VASNHS Executive Director Bill Caron and recap the year about to go into the history books, and take a look forward at what 2022 could bring to Veteran healthcare in Southern Nevada.  

Episode 36 - You Need The Right Fuel

No matter how motivated you are to eat healthy and provide your body with the nourishment it needs, there are so many factors in today's society working against the right kinds of diet.  Convenience of unhealthy food, massive portion sizes, and using food as a means to help eliminate stress are just a few of the reasons why today's Americans have issues maintaining a healthy diet and weight.  In addition to all those challenges, some Veterans have additional roadblocks that keep them away from a healthy lifestyle.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we'll speak with our dietary staff about some of those unique challenges Veterans face in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, how VASNHS is addressing health issues brought on by poor dietary habits, and some of the exciting classes available for Veterans to learn to eat a more healthy diet.

Episode 35 - Kicking the Habit

More than 34 million Americans currently smoke in some form, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability and death in the United States.  Acceptance of smoking in public has seen a dramatic decline in recent years, as more and more places become smoke free environments.  But just because smoking is less accepted in public spaces doesn't mean smoking itself is in decline.  In fact, due to COVID-19 related stress issues, the United States has actually seen an uptick in the number of smokers.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Dr. Melissa LaVan and Dr. Stephen Slubar about what the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System is doing to help Veterans kick the habit, how smoking can make you more susceptible to the worst impacts of COVID-19, and the upcoming Great American Smokeout on the 18th of this month.

Episode 34 - A Matter of Faith

There are plenty of resources and clinics here at the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System devoted to physical and mental health of Veterans, but one of the pillars of the Whole Health model we use here is that of spiritual health.  Spiritual health of Veterans is attended to by our small cadre of Chaplains, and with close to 300 religious preferences among the Veterans we serve, our Chaplains are plenty busy.

 

On this episode of The 9 Line, we speak with Chief of Chaplain Service Dr. Dwight Webster, and Chaplain Esther Geevarghese about how we're growing our Chaplain corps here at the VASNHS, some insight as to what a Chaplain does at a VA facility, and much, much more.

 

Episode 33 - Living Healthy

Whole Health is VA’s cutting-edge approach to care that supports Veteran health and well-being. Whole Health centers around preventative education and finding out what matters to a Veteran, not what is "wrong". This means a Veteran's health team will get to know them as a person, before working  to develop a personalized health plan based on their values, needs, and goals.

 

On this Episode of The 9 Line, we speak with a couple of members of our Whole Health staff about how the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System is incorporating this modality, what we're doing new with Whole Health, and a host of other issues involving this new way of approaching Veteran health.