The Department of Veterans Affairs Information Management System: Serving those that Served
Punefuolemotu E.L. Aiumu
Everest University
MBA Degree Program
Information Management System

Abstract
I selected this title because I served in the United States Army from 2003 to 2010. I was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and several other operations. However, when I left the Service it became clear to me years later that Veterans Affairs weren’t ready to treat our Men and Women coming back from War. So I did some extensive research on how the system may have failed the people it was supposed to serve. And a good example of the system’s failure was the second Fort Hood incident in 2014.
Keywords: Veterans Affairs, Fort Hood, Service

The Department of Veterans Affairs Information Management System: Serving those that Served
The reason why I chose this subject is because it is close to home and it also affects me. After two weeks of this class I wanted to dive deep into information management. I want to know why our system at the Department of Veterans Affairs do not stand ready to serve the Veteran population of our Nation properly. So many Veterans complain about loss or insufficient pensions because the VA hasn’t track them sufficiently. Sitting at Veterans Hospital in Orlando, FL I hear two Vietnam era Veterans talk about not having VA ID Cards. And they have been waiting for it since 2009. I asked them why it took this long, and they said, “The system was backlogged”, or at least that’s what the VA told them and this was back in 2009. So the premise of this paper is really for me to uncover answers to three major Questions that I personally have:
1. How long is the integration process as far as Service Member transitioning from Active Duty to Veteran status in order for their information to become available so they can be serviced at VA Hospitals Nationwide?
2. If a Service Member damages his records beyond recognition, instead of him waiting for 6 months to a year to retrieve copies, can we implement a system that will grant him online access to his Service and Medical Records?
3. Is there a better information sharing system for the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense to quickly process Service Member’s that are transitioning from Active Duty status to the Civilian sector to grant them employment with in the same field while they were in the Military, and in the same capacity as Civilians?
There was a time when wearing a uniform meant the attention was given to you. People came together to thank these heroes that fought for the liberation of lands taken by force. The very latest of these acts of valor came in Sept. 11 2001 when a cowardice act took 3,000 lives on a Tuesday morning. They fought their way to punish those that help plan these attacks, and also to liberate a Nation destabilized by tyrants. Today, thousands upon thousands of these heroes are heading back home. Only to be met with a Veteran support system that is several years old.
This paper will talk about the VA and its aging system. A system that is so simple that men at the top make it sophisticated to use. As you read through this paper you will come across some points and questions that will only fuel your curiosity. And that’s what I want you to have is to be curios and always ask the most important of the five W’s….WHY? Veterans Affairs the Department technology forgot.

History of Veterans Affairs.
“In 1776 the Continental Congress sought to encourage enlistments and curtail desertions with the nation’s first pension law. It granted half pay for life in cases of loss of limb or other serious disability. This obligation was carried out in varying degrees by different states. At most, only 3,000 Revolutionary War veterans ever drew any pension. Later, grants of public land were made to those who served to the end of the war.” (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2005). This means that the each State had to take care of their own wounded and disabled Soldier.
Later on the U.S Government took on the burden with payments. Let me remind you that the U.S Federal Government volunteered to accept the duty of paying Veterans of Conflicts. “In 1789, with the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the first Congress assumed the burden of paying veterans benefits. The first federal pension legislation was passed in 1789.” (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2005)
As the Nation keeps growing during this era so have the wars we participated in. Hence, the increase of more Veterans and disabled Veterans. “It continued the pension law passed by the Continental Congress. There were 2,200 pensioners by 1816. In that year the growing cost of living and a surplus in the Treasury led Congress to raise allowances for all disabled veterans and to grant half-pay pensions for five years to widows and orphans of soldiers of the War of 1812. This term later was lengthened.” (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2005)
The V.A’s mission has spread and expanded. It sometimes beg the question, where are they going? Why are they going that way? And is there any control?
“VA operates more than 1,300 sites of care including nearly 900 ambulatory care and community-based outpatient clinics, 136 nursing homes, 43 residential rehabilitation treatment programs, nearly 90 comprehensive home-care programs, and more than 200 Veterans Centers More than 5.3 million people received care in VA health care facilities in 2005. Where approximately 2 million veterans have been served since the first center opened in 1979. In 2005 alone, Veterans Centers handle more than 1 million visits by nearly 133,000 veterans and members of their families.” (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2005)

Virtual VA 2009: Welcome to the future?
“Virtual VA Paperless Claims Processing is a Web-based suite of information solutions that provides electronic "eFolders" for claims processing through imaging, document management technologies, and integration with output capabilities of several other VA systems” (Prosight, 2009). “Full implementation of Virtual VA enables VBA to address timely processing of services to veterans, which is currently hindered by the dependence on paper documents (Prosight, 2009).”
The change from papers to virtual forms has been a talk of great improvement. However, such improvements have surfaced but in 2010 the current President’s Administration came under fire for backlogs. During an oversight committee meeting it was learned that Department of Defense and VA officials use different system’s than the one they supposedly promised. Kind of makes you think about the “Obamacare rollout” failure of 2014. They also promised that improved security is the major feature with the Virtual VA 2009.
And yet it’s been getting setbacks because of security issues. “Full implementation will also greatly improve the security and the privacy of veteran data by migrating from a vulnerable, paper claims folder to a secure, centralized, and electronic claims folder for compensation and pension processing. This investment will fund electronic document workflow processing, business process management, VA and DOD systems integration national scanning of documents, and improved workflow management” (Prosight, 2009).

Hospitals of Death.
“The Veterans Administration hospital scandal that has claimed the lives of at least 40 U.S. military veterans continues to expand, adding to the image of a president who neither knows nor cares what happens to those who shed their blood on the battlefield for their fellow Americans” (Vadum, 2014). And Veterans around the Nation are beyond anger they want those in charge to pay for their actions.
Reports of suicide emerge in 2008 when two Veterans killed themselves in a hospital. On Fox lead Psychiatrist Dr. Margaret Moxness said, “She feared the worst but felt powerless because officials in the Huntington, W.Va., Veterans Affairs treatment center where she worked turned a deaf ear to her warnings about delayed treatment. Moxness said she knew the problems were serious from her review of the cases of two veterans who committed suicide at the facility just prior to her arrival in 2008. She believes things didn't become even worse only because of the West Virginia facility's location” (Tapscott, 2014).

Erik Shinseki: To blame or not to blame.
“Is the clock ticking down on Eric Shinseki’s tenure as secretary of the Veterans Administration? It sure sounded that way as President Obama gave Mr. Shinseki – a retired four-star Army general – somewhat tepid backing in a press conference on allegations of misconduct at VA hospitals” (Grier, 2014). Whatever the case the fact that they still haven’t admit any wrong doing is a telltale sign that they see no fault at what they have done.
The Secretary of the VA isn’t the only one at fault but as a former leader of Soldiers he should at least owe up to some responsibility for this mess. The VA isn’t a small business it’s the biggest welfare and pension system of its kind. We understand that no other Nation takes care of its Soldier like the USA. But this is inexcusable and somebody has to walk. And right now that somebody is the VA Secretary himself.

Conclusion.
Our Men and Women have served their Nation in the highest honor. Some more so than others however they still gave their time to ensure our freedoms. There are those who have gave their life and yet their own family members do not get the proper attention they need. These Veterans coming back need their government to step up and help with their transition from the battlefront.
“The current issue at the VA is allegations of treatment delays and preventable deaths at a growing number of VA hospitals. The VA Inspector General’s office now says that 26 facilities are being investigated for these problems nationwide, up from 10 a week ago. Right now, the epicenter of the allegations concerns a Phoenix hospital where 40 veterans are said to have died while waiting for treatment, and staff kept a secret list of patients waiting for appointments to hide delays in care” (Grier, 2014).
No one should be judge and jury nor the gatekeeper of who will live and who goes. We believe that Our Veterans should get the best care. But most importantly the government should fix the management of funds and pensions. They should also work a very less sophisticated system so the numerous Veterans of Our nation can get benefits they deserve. In the end we have to care for those that served, also to the family of those that made the ultimate sacrifice. Because we are a Nation that cares not a Nation that turns a blind eye when its Sons’ and Daughters’ who helped with her protection needs her the most.

References
Billups, A. (2014, April 30). Veterans Affairs Problems Extend Far Beyond Phoenix Woes. Retrieved from Newsmax: http://www.newsmax.com/US/veterans-VA-Phoenix-delays/2014/04/30/id/568648/
Bronstein, S., & Griffin, D. (2014, April 24). A fatal wait: Veterans languish and die on a VA hospital's secret list. Retrieved from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/23/health/veterans-dying-health-care-delays/index.html
Department of Veterans Affairs. (2005). VA History in Breif . Washington D.C: Department of Veterans Affairs.
Desjardins, L. (2014, May 21). VA scandal: Why hasn't anyone been fired yet? Washington D.C, District of Columbia, USA.
Grier, P. (2014, May 21). Is Obama nudging VA chief Shinseki offstage? Washington D.C, Maryland, USA.
Prosight. (2009). Virtual VA 2009. Retrieved from http://www.va.gov/EXHIBIT300/docs/VV.pdf
Tapscott, M. (2014, May 20). Death toll from Veterans Affairs delays, incompetence climbing. Washington D.C, District of Columbia, USA.
Vadum, M. (2014, May 21). VA Scandal: This Is What Death Panels Look Like. Sherman Oaks, California, USA: FrontPAGEMAG.