This woman was part of a small but mighty team that ran the Innovation Ecosystem within the VA.
She arrived visibly excited to share about their work, and after learning more about it, I understand why.
“When COVID came, our team kicked into high gear,” she said. “Our team thrives on opportunities to respond to changes in the healthcare setting and patient needs. It almost feels like we responded to COVID like Americans before us have responded in wartime—immediately shifting our infrastructures to meet new demands.”
She shared a few stories with me that illustrated the impact their work was having on health outcomes not just within the VA, but across the country.
One preventative-care partnership they initiated only a year ago had resulted in the complete elimination of all major amputations for some of VA’s sickest patients. She hoped the agility they proved during COVID would remain a part of their daily approach to healthcare going forward.
“This has been a really meaningful experience for me, especially because of the relationships we’ve built,” she said. “I would like to be able to look back on this time and feel inspired and proud.”
Listener Poet Jenny Hegland
Veterans' Affairs Center for Development & Civic Engagement
September 2020
Innovation Ecosystem
We know we cannot innovate alone.
We know we cannot determine the solutions
that will transform healthcare
over the next ten years, by ourselves.
We know innovation happens
in the spaces between.
So, we work every day with patients:
Veterans excited and invested
in giving feedback and trying new technologies
for even the slightest chance
of helping other Veterans.
And we work every day with partners:
industry, academia, start-ups,
big companies, small companies--
any company that shares our mission
and is positioned to design, develop, and scale.
And we work every day as an intentionally-
curated team to build infrastructure
that spans across the enterprise;
and we ramp into high gear as soon as we see
the opportunity to respond in times of need.
