Guest column by Interim Commissioner Brad Lindsay
4/19/2023 11:00:00 AM
Minnesota Veterans and their families deserve the highest quality of care. And the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) is committed to delivering on that.
I’m proud of the quality recognitions we have earned in both MDVA’s Healthcare and Programs & Services Divisions. And you don’t have to just take our word for it. MDVA’s quality is assessed by numerous state and federal agencies.
We’ve compiled our quality information on /mdva/about/quality.jspour website's quality page. There you’ll find numerous examples of commitment to quality.
For five years running, our four skilled nursing facilities (located in Fergus Falls, Luverne, Minneapolis and Silver Bay) have received the Pinnacle Quality Insight’s Customer Experience Award. Pinnacle interviewed both Residents and their families on several areas including:
Every month, our leadership team reviewed these real-time survey results to gain a better understanding of Residents’ needs and we made improvements when necessary.
Our Silver Bay Home achieved zero deficiencies on three surveys in a row! This includes two Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) annual surveys on behalf of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and one Federal VA Survey. The Ferus Falls Home also recently achieved a deficiency-free survey from MDH.
The Minnesota State Veterans Homes in both Fergus Falls and Luverne were recognized as one of the “Best Nursing Homes” for 2022-2023 according to U.S. News and World Report magazine. U.S. News evaluated over 15,000 nursing homes while completing their research. Only 16% of U.S. skilled nursing facilities earned the “Best Nursing Home” designation this year.
Last year, the Minneapolis Veterans Home was recognized by Newsweek Magazine as one of America’s Best Nursing Homes and among the top eight nursing homes in Minnesota for 2022.
For the fourth time, the MDVA Programs & Services Division has received the prestigious Abraham Lincoln Pillars of Excellence Award from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs! This award recognizes outstanding state programs that support Veterans within their states. Earlier this year, MDVA was the sole winner in the category of “Eliminating Veteran Homelessness” in recognition of three new homeless Veteran initiatives: Operation OVER (Opening Veterans to Every Resource), Minnesota’s Veterans Entering Stable Tenancy (MNVEST) and Veteran Supportive Housing Opportunities (VSHO).
MDVA’s Tribal Veterans Service Officer (TVSO) program received the Pillars of Excellence Award in 2021 for best practices in developing effective programs to address one of the top-line issues, which is delivery of services to Tribal Governments serving Native American Veterans. This category was new in 2021 and MDVA won the first ever award in this category.
A Pillars of Excellence Award was received in 2020 for the Veterans Application Tracking System (VATS) used to streamline the process of Veterans and their families receiving the educational benefits granted by the Minnesota GI Bill.
In 2018, the award was also presented in recognition of the Discharge Access Database System (DADS), a searchable database of secure military discharge documents used by County Veteran Service Officers (CVSOs) and MDVA staff to locate Veteran discharge documents which are recorded in all 87 Minnesota counties.
Finally, all three of the Minnesota State Veterans Cemeteries have been recognized with the National Cemetery Administration’s (NCA) Operational Excellence Awards. These awards were received after successfully completing an NCA compliance review that examines 95 standards to ensure the best possible experience for families of Veterans interred at the cemeteries in categories such as Interment Operations, Grounds Maintenance, Headstone, Marker and Niche Cover, Equipment Maintenance, and other standards.
Our Veterans and their families deserve nothing less than the highest quality of care and service. We are proud to provide it.
Remember that MDVA is here to serve Veterans and their families from all eras. If you need information or support on any Veteran issue, please visit our website, contact your County Veterans Service Officer, or contact LinkVet at 1-888-LinkVet.
And a reminder: we are hiring for hundreds of roles at the three new Veterans Homes and the new Veterans Cemetery. Please consider joining our team or encouraging others to do so. Job openings are posted at mn.gov/careers.
Thank YOU for your service!
