[AVAPL Members] Re: coverage at very small CBOCs?

  • From: "Edwards, Sherri Ph. D. (OKL)" <Sherri.Edwards@xxxxxx>
  • To: <members1@xxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 5 Aug 2010 07:27:51 -0500

I can only speak from my experience. I was in a CBOC for 2 ½ years in Lawton, 
OK. I was the only psychologist. I was part-time- 4 days a week. We had one 
social worker- whose time was split between MH and medical social work, and one 
full time psychiatrist. Whenever one of the team members went on leave, their 
clinics were closed for that time period. If I had to call in sick, there was 
no coverage for my clinics, nor for the psychiatrist or social worker. We 
worked well together to anticipate coverage issues, including quickly 
rescheduling veterans. We had a great program support/clerk. We were able to 
set up a process where we could get assistance from military police for 
emergency orders of detention. Lawton OPC is located on a military 
installation- Fort Sill. OKC VA MH did send social worker to provide SAT 
services- maybe one day a week-if I am correct. I recall that the Lawton social 
worker left the position and some coverage of his responsibilities were covered 
by OKC VA MH social worker for a period of time, but not all of his 
responsibilities- such as medical social work. These referrals were sent back 
to the VA social work medicine to manage. It takes a little over a hour to 
travel to the Lawton OPC from Oklahoma City. 

 

I actually lived in Oklahoma City and traveled four days a week to Lawton. My 
duty station was Lawton, OK so I was not granted to access a GSA vehicle. The 
psychiatrist also traveled from Oklahoma City. I can say that we were pretty 
self-sufficient. Prior to the psychiatrist coming on board, psychiatry was 
managed by tele-mental health- again this was over 6 years ago and OKC/Lawton 
was using tele-mental health. 

 

The mental health program has grown quite significantly since I left over 4 
years ago and hence there is greater coverage from within the Lawton team. My 
current Chief of Psychology is William Leber. Please feel free to give him an 
email. I think the team is pretty solid. 

 

Hope this helps.

 

Sherri Edwards, PhD

Program Director, MHICM

Oklahoma City VAMC (183J)

921 NE 13th Street

Oklahoma City, OK  73104

 

"Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one's own sunshine."

                                                                              
Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

From: avaplmembers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
[mailto:avaplmembers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Herman, Steve
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2010 7:11 AM
To: members1@xxxxxxxxx; VHA National Psychology Chiefs
Subject: [AVAPL Members] coverage at very small CBOCs?

 

We are about to move the mental health services of one of our CBOCs into new 
space, two doors away from the rest of the CBOC (located in a strip shopping 
center).  The medical side of the CBOC is run by contract workers, so we have 
very little say or control over them.  The mental health providers of the CBOC 
are VA employees.

 

The mental health staff are one APN, one LCSW, a full-time clerk, and one 
part-time LCSW.  We have been trying to figure out procedures in the event that 
someone should be out sick, or in the unlikely event that only one person 
should be in (e.g., if one person is on vacation, the part-time person is 
scheduled off and someone else calls in sick).  Do we send someone in from 
another CBOC?  Do we divert patients to another CBOC?  Do we send someone down 
from our Medical Center or divert patients up to the Medical Center?

 

Does anyone else have a small CBOC in a similar situation, with any suggestions 
of how to handle such problems?

 

Thank you.

 

Steven M. Herman, Ph.D., HSPP

Director, Psychiatry Ambulatory Clinic

Lead Psychologist

Richard L. Roudebush VAMC

Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry

Indiana University Medical Center

1481 West 10th Street (116P)

Indianapolis, IN  46202

phone   317-988-2770

fax       317-988-2884

 

Other related posts: