Recently, a VHAN RN Care Navigator was able to connect an overlooked patient to much-needed follow-up care after a joint replacement. The 63-year-old female patient with comorbidities was admitted to a hospital for a planned knee replacement, expecting that she would be referred to a rehab facility at discharge. However, after spending a week in the hospital, she was sent home with no follow-up instructions. She understandably felt confused and disconnected from the system and worried about what would happen next—that’s where VHAN’s RN Care Navigator Cheryl Landis stepped in.

Coinciding with VHAN’s 10th anniversary, the third season of the miniVHAN podcast looks back at the unique vision for VHAN and how the network launched amidst a major transition in health care from fee-for-service to value-based care following the signing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

VHAN is pleased to announce that the network achieved 100% performance on all Aetna Commercial quality measures in 2021. VHAN members also scored higher than Aetna’s Q4 national average on several measures, including Breast and Colorectal Cancer Screening and Comprehensive Diabetes Care.

VHAN is excited to announce that the network’s pediatric depression screening rate has dramatically improved. In 2019, VHAN began measuring annual depression screening for children 12 and older. To assist members who were struggling in this area, VHAN licensed clinical social workers met with practices to promote the social work program and the benefits of using the pediatric behavioral health consult line. As a result, by 2021, no VHAN members received a score of zero for depression screening and 46% of practices screened 90% of their VHAN patients for depression.

During a recent checkup call with a 75-year-old male patient with a history of stroke, a VHAN RN Care Navigator talked to the patient’s wife, who spoke of feeling stressed and overwhelmed. After working full-time and serving for some time as the primary income provider, she was exhibiting classic signs of caregiver burnout—exhaustion combined with feelings of hopelessness and isolation. Read the full article to learn more about how VHAN’s Care Management team helped this caregiver navigate a difficult situation.

Modeled after VHAN’s Pediatric Behavioral Consult Line, which has fielded more than 2,000 phone calls since launching in 2018, VHAN is launching a similar line later this year to assist clinicians with adults who need behavioral health support. The new Adult Behavioral Health Consult Line will be managed by Shannon Brown, LCSW, who will be […]

As COVID-19 cases begin to increase again in the region, new outpatient treatment options are available that may lessen the severity of infection and reduce patients’ chances of being hospitalized or dying from the virus. VHAN encourages its members and their staff to learn more about these options to help educate themselves, their family members and their patients about their availability. Making use of these treatment options will be powerful in keeping COVID-positive patients out of the hospital, ensuring beds remain available for patients needing care of all kinds.

VHAN’s Care Management team of registered nurses, Certified Diabetes Educators (CDE), social workers, pharmacists and Care Navigators work together every day to address the physical, mental, spiritual and social needs of patients. Recently, the team applied multidisciplinary efforts to help a patient heal from a hospital stay while simultaneously recovering from a personal tragedy—a fire that took her home and most of her belongings. Read the full article to learn more about how VHAN can help patients manage their health through the most difficult times.

VHAN’s Care Navigators help address the physical, mental, spiritual and social needs of patients. Watch a video to see the powerful story of how VHAN’s Care Management team helped Tina improve her mental health and better manage her physical symptoms.