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<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; A new community-oriented board could be coming to the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center.</p><p>Carlos Robinson, a field consultant for the Veterans Experience, spent time at the center last week outlining potential plans and goals for the board, as well as describing a similar board operating in Pittsburgh.</p><p>Robinson said the boards are tasked to &#8220;think outside the box.&#8221; The Veteran Experience Office will help facilitate communication between veterans and their health care team when expectations fall short.</p><p>&#8220;We focus on the external,&#8221; Robinson said. &#8220;The VA doesn&#8217;t want us internal.&#8221;</p><p>The national Veterans Experience is just under two years old. The myVA website says Tom Allin was appointed the first chief Veteran&#8217;s Experience officer in 2015.</p><p>Once created, the board, which consists of the director of the VA and other individuals, will carry its own charter and be wholly independent from the center, Robinson said.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re not a 501(c)(3),&#8221; Robinson noted, but their charter will be on file with the VA Chief of Staff in Washington, D.C. Because they&#8217;re not an entity of the center, the board must find ways to raise funds.</p><p>In an explanation, Robinson said the PAServes organization in Pittsburgh received a Heinz endowment to kick start its office. &#8220;But Pittsburgh is a big research city,&#8221; Robinson said, noting his office in Delaware must independently solicit.</p><p>The PAServes team has already implemented a regional referral system for veterans to get community-based services if the Pittsburgh VAs don&#8217;t have services. Nationally, the Veterans Experience is beta testing a smartphone app to get real time feedback and data in certain VAs. If it&#8217;s successful, it could be rolled out nationally.</p><p>According to Robinson, there are five critical objectives the Veterans Experience team uses: improving the veterans experience, improving the employee experience, improving internal support services, establishing a culture of continuous improvement and enhancing strategic partnerships.</p><p>If all goes well, a board with representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration and the National Cemetery Administration will be set up in the local VA within six months.</p><p>&#8220;It all depends on participation,&#8221; Robinson said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Carlos Roinson, veterans experience field consultant for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, speaks at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL01XX17Robinson1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Carlos Roinson, veterans experience field consultant for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, speaks at the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>&#8216;Veterans Experience&#8217; would helpfacilitate healthcare delivery needs</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Melanie Mizenko</p><p>mmizenko@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Melanie Mizenko at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TL_MMizenko.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

New board in the works at VA to enhance veterans experience