The Salt Lake City VA to Implement the Vulnerable Veteran – Innovative PACT (VIP Initiative)

The Salt Lake City VA to Implement the Vulnerable Veteran – Innovative PACT (VIP Initiative)

Recently, the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System was awarded with nearly $13 million and a 5-year commitment to implement the VIP Initiative, to be headed by Adam Gordon, MD, MPH (Division of Epidemiology).

Established by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the overarching goal of this initiative is to improve the health of veterans who are particularly vulnerable due to medical disease (e.g., addiction/pain) and/or their social determinants.

The initiative will serve veterans: 

• with unhealthy alcohol use and/or addiction disorders
• with co-occurring addiction and pain disorders
• with social determinants (e.g., homeless or at-risk for homelessness)
• who are “high utilizers” of health care services
• who are in need of opioid risk assessment and risk mitigation
• who may need high intense, high frequency primary care engagement
• who may ”enter” or “fall off of” the VA Pain or Opioid Use Disorder “Step Models for Care”

Oftentimes, these patient populations are disengaged from primary care and don’t have ready access to addiction-related services.

The VIP Initiative recognizes these challenges and has established three primary components to meet the needs of these patient populations.

• VIP-1: Will engage eligible veterans to primary care at the Salt Lake VA Health Care System and serve as a Center of Excellence
• VIP-2: Will provide direct and remote clinical services to veterans, provide mentoring, education, and consultative services to VA providers regarding vulnerable veteran care issues
• VIP-3: Will define the population of high utilizers in our VA system and engage, evaluate, and implement changes to meaningfully reduce high-utilizer admissions

This is a dynamic and necessary initiative that will provide vulnerable veterans with the primary care services and support when and where they need it.