Abstract

Closing the Gap: Increasing Veterans' Access To VHA Primary Care
Track: Health and Human Services
Authors: Lauren Wilson

Objective: Access to care for rural Veterans is a VA priority. Geographic access to health services could be improved by targeting community resources in areas beyond 30-minutes travel-time to VHA Primary Care.

Methods: VHA enrollees beyond 30 minutes travel-time in Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 11 were identified using Network Analyst's New Service Area. Incremental-Spatial-Autocorrelation was used to find an appropriate distance. Spatial Statistic Tool Hot Spot Analysis was used to identify underserved enrollees. Location-Allocation was used in Hot Spots to identify potential community resources for geographically plausible partnerships.

Findings: Three Hot Spots were identified. Location-Allocations identified cities and existing community resources that could expand coverage if utilized.

Impact: The use of the Network Analyst, Supplementary Spatial Statistics, and Spatial Statistics tools helps to solve an important problem to give our Veterans the best care possible.