The Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System’s (VAPAHCS), California, Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service (PSAS) was recently awarded the Veterans Health Administration’s Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service of the Year Award, given each year to one of 153 prosthetic and sensory aids services in the VA.
The team was judged in an array of criteria, including innovative processes, outstanding customer service, nationally recognized survey results, and compliance with performance measurements.
“We come to work every day to take care of the veterans, first and foremost,” said Dustin Thompson, chief of the VAPAHCS’ PSAS. “We don’t do what we do because we think we may get an award. We do it because it’s our passion-but it is great when you are recognized for those results.”
Thompson noted that one of the most innovative solutions they were recognized for included an efficiency increase for prosthetic and sensory aid delivery. The change meant technicians were given work orders specific to their specialized skills, work quantity, and processing time. This transformation decreased the number of pending work orders by 75 percent.