Part Two - Office of Construction and Facilities Management

PART 2 Innovative 21 st Century Building Environments for
VA Healthcare Delivery
INTRODUCTION
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recognizes that the design of facilities
critically affects the effectiveness and efficiency of the performance of VA’s
missions. True high-performance buildings will support the VA healthcare
delivery mission and goals for transformation to 21 st -century care. Transforming
VA facilities’ processes and services requires the critical input, feedback, and
enthusiastic support of the broad spectrum of highly dedicated VA architects,
engineers, healthcare, and other professionals throughout the VA system.
It is in that context that all committee recommendations regarding VA healthcare
facilities support, at least tangentially, all four strategic goals described in the
Department of Veterans Affairs Strategic Plan FY 2006-2011. However, the
committee recommendations are intended to directly and significantly relate to
the Department's single enabling goal: Deliver world-class service to veterans
and their families through effective communication and management of people,
technology, business processes, and financial resources.
In order to study and make recommendations to VA across the full range of
innovative design principles, technology, and business practices for transforming
the environment of care, the Task Group, supported by the VA Advisory Group,
divided into nine topical committees. The committee discussions were not made
in isolation of the broad context of the Task Group challenge.
The chapters of Part 2 report the recommendations of the nine committees:
Care Optimization, Healing Environments, Satisfaction, Adaptability,
Sustainability, Building Operations and Maintenance, Building Acquisition, Data
Acquisition, and Continuous Innovation. While the nine chapters focus on
individual aspects, the recommendations and discussions overlap due to the
essential inter-relationships within the healthcare environment.
It is important to reinforce that the Task Group considered and universally
expressed that cross-functional and inter-organizational collaboration within VA,
as well as strong external alliances, are considered prerequisites for all
subsequent Task Group conclusions and recommendations.
FINAL DRAFT Part 2-1
June 2009