ECS Enhances VA Virtual Medical Center

ECS will be partnering with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as part of the Joint Innovation Fund (JIF) Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Grant to expand the capabilities of the VA Virtual Medical Center (VMC) for its Whole Health campaign. ECS will work with the VA to redesign its existing Whole Health clinic within the VMC to be a new Wellness Center zone with access to information to potentially reverse and treat CVD in Veterans; CVD has been cited by the Department of Defense (DoD) as the number one cause of death for active duty Service Members and Veterans. Shane Taber, ECS Vice President of Operations, Orlando, will oversee this collaborative learning project.

The VMC will include a new Wellness Center to be developed to allow healthcare providers, Service Members, and Veterans to access relevant information and training regarding CVD prevention and treatment. This partnership between the DoD and the VA will compare standardized outcomes from existing face-to-face groups in VA or DoD settings, with the self-directed virtual learning and avatar-assisted virtual “in world” groups in VA-VMC.

Waymon Armstrong, CEO & President of ECS says: “We are proud to maintain this critical work with our Veterans to address their healthcare needs. By continuing to improve the accessibility and convenience of affordable health care services, we hope to save lives by preventing and treating heart disease. This new project will also allow our team to research and improve upon our capabilities in providing this type of innovative virtual training.”

The VA-VMC is a fully functional, web-based educational tool accessed by Veterans Health Administration (VHA) providers, providing Veterans and their caregivers with medical information and educational programs. It also offers a scalable, flexible, and adaptable learning environment for electronic consultation between patients and providers. The VMC has improved access to care and contributes to improvements in the health of the population, thus enhancing medical readiness and saving costs previously incurred for in-person visits.

Whole Health is VA's new approach to delivering healthcare. The mobile application equips Veterans to take charge of their health and well-being while living life to the fullest. VA facilities across the country are implementing Whole Health as a new approach to provide health services with Veterans as partners in their health.

ECS is currently working on the completion of the design phase of the project and will begin development soon. The team plans to deliver the new Wellness Center in mid-2021.