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USMI Dialogue: VHA's Role in Pandemic Influenza Preparedness

USMI asked Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, Under Secretary for Health in the Department of Veterans Affairs, what role VHA is taking in the nation's efforts to deal with a potential influenza pandemic. His reply:

Because Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities are located in nearly every community in the United States, we liken the VA medical system to a fine-meshed sieve when it comes to infectious diseases and public health threats - if an event happens anywhere in our country, VA facilities will respond to protect veterans, our staff, our operations, and be part of the national response. Our successful system-wide approach that produces high seasonal influenza vaccination rates and our well-established emergency management programs provide a solid basis for our pandemic influenza preparedness. VA is taking several key actions against pandemic influenza, including:

Promoting a national campaign, "Infection: Don't Pass It On," to enlist all staff and patients to take basic public health measures - especially hand washing and respiratory hygiene - that could reduce or delay the impact of pandemic influenza. Establishing a stockpile of the antiviral drug oseltamivir and a policy for distribution in an emergency. Initiating a small clinical research study that would determine if co-administration with another drug (probenicid) could enable the supply of oseltamivir to be extended for use in more people. Developing a Respiratory Infectious Disease Emergency Plan for VA Facilities outlining the actions we will need to take to help a medical facility be ready for and manage a pandemic influenza emergency. Coordinating with White House planning activities and working across Federal, regional, and local lines to be prepared and maintain the effective working relationships that will be essential in a pandemic influenza. Improving our reporting capacity, using VHA's system-wide electronic medical record system, to enable provision of real-time clinical data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for surveillance of influenza-like disease in the U.S. In the meantime, VHA is leading the development of a VA-wide plan and its implementation to enable our health, benefits, and memorial affairs are working together and better prepared. The VA Pandemic Influenza Plan covers patient-care issues; infrastructure issues such as facilities management, acquisitions, supply and logistics; workforce issues such as occupational health and staffing; staff education; a VA pandemic flu table-top exercise that we expect to occur in 2006; and communication within and outside of VA during both the prepandemic phase - where we are now - and during a pandemic. For more information on what VA is doing, please visit http://www.publichealth.va.gov and be sure to stay updated through the national Federal Web site, http://www.pandemicflu.gov. While one can never predict everything that will happen in an emergency and an influenza pandemic, VA is committed to do everything we can for the veterans who rely on us for their health care and to support our nation's readiness and response to pandemic influenza.