Wounded Warriors - Taking Care of our Nation's Heroes

Booz Allen employs a megacommunity™ approach to evaluate and fully understand the Wounded Warrior range of care.

In the era of persistent conflict, an unprecedented number of service men and women are surviving combat wounds and illnesses—more than ever before. As a result, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have been faced with increased demand for health, benefits, and transition services.

“These agencies are experiencing an influx of servicemen and women with a more complex set of injuries and a greater set of needs than in the recent past,” says Booz Allen Vice President Robin Portman. “Many of the wounded are suffering from brain trauma and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) that require comprehensive rehabilitation services to address physical and mental impairments.” While thousands of service members who are not severely wounded may return to military duty, they still face complex illnesses and injuries that may take months or longer to heal. No matter the affliction, these warriors and their families rely on the two departments for medical care and support. It is a tremendous challenge.

Over the last year, DoD and VA have responded by working to improve communication and coordination efforts while transforming the way they provide health care, benefits delivery, and transition assistance to their servicemen and women and their families. The transformation was prompted in part by intense media scrutiny highlighted in early 2007 by The Washington Post and other national media organizations. The coverage prompted calls by lawmakers, veterans, and the American public to change longstanding practices and policies.

“Because of Booz Allen’s expertise in change management, organizational strategy, information technology, and strategic communications in the defense, military and civilian health markets, many of the firm’s clients turned to us for help,” Portman said.

Grappling with the Challenges through a Holistic Approach

Drawing on its broad experience with DoD, VA, and other health organizations, the firm’s defense health leadership team recognized that providing for the nation’s Wounded Warriors is a continuum—starting with providing basic health care, determining fitness to return to active duty, accessing benefits after leaving the service and communicating those changes to key stakeholders through deliberate communications and outreach strategies.

“Each organization is doing the best it can, but no one agency touches the entire continuum of care,” says Portman. “Coordination and information sharing across disparate care givers and organizations—as well as outdated processes and technology—create problems in providing optimal care and benefits. The Wounded Warrior challenge requires taking a holistic approach at all levels of the organization. Communicating these changes to their key stakeholders has also been a critical function for the client because of the impact media reports have had on perceptions by the American public and the implications on military recruiting and retention efforts.”

As part of this holistic approach, Portman and other senior leaders from across the firm came together to form a megacommunity of health care subject matter experts knowledgeable about the agencies, systems, and activities affecting the Wounded Warrior landscape. The megacommunity includes people in the firm who touch various parts of the continuum of care and benefits. In addition, the coordinated approach helps Booz Allen counsel their clients from a unified perspective toward solutions that are inclusive of multiple agencies and jurisdiction, holistic in approach, and will stand the test of time.

Getting Smart about the Continuum

One of the first actions of the megacommunity was to evaluate and fully understand the entire Wounded Warrior range of care, so Booz Allen invested in a diagnostic of the continuum. The study provided insight into client organizations, identified where the firm’s projects touch the continuum, and helped the team spot potential challenges and opportunities for enhancing the effectiveness of care delivery and benefits. For instance, the diagnostic identified duplicative processes, lack of alignment between service demand and existing capacity, and delays in providing benefits because of breakdowns in communications and outreach.

Senior Vice President Reggie Van Lee, who led the diagnostic, observed that, “As a result of the diagnostic, we got really smart about all aspects of healthcare, benefits, process improvement, strategic communications, and information technology implications for the Wounded Warrior.”

With broad knowledge about their clients learned through past service and the diagnostic, as well as being able to bring the necessary expertise to the table, the members of the megacommunity help clients solve their complex, multi-dimensional challenges. Some of the client challenges and initiatives Booz Allen is working on, include:

Implementation support to the Army for major benefits programs, such as call centers for veterans and their families
Feasibility study of a joint DoD/VA inpatient electronic health record
Identification of joint DoD/VA Strategic Oversight Committee opportunities for more efficient and effective collaboration between the agencies
Strategic review of the issues and challenges of scheduling veterans for VA services, in order to decrease “wait times” for health appointments
Program implementation to bring care to veterans who live in rural areas, away from large urban health centers
Strategic communications and outreach for the Army’s transformation of Warrior Care
Management, analysis, and process improvement support to establish true continuity of care for Soldiers and their Families

Solutions with Lasting Results

Portman and the rest of the megacommunity feel that their coordinated efforts are delivering multiple value-added results to their clients. “Our clients are not only trying to fix an immediate problem in real time,” says Portman. “They are also trying to institute changes and solutions that will have lasting results.” They must also communicate those changes to their stakeholders and the American public who are studying their every move. They expect real solutions and not bureaucratic delays. Time is a luxury our clients don’t have, and we have been at their side during this remarkable period to ensure they achieve their goals today. Supporting America’s Wounded Warriors is more than just a service we provide, it is an honor we cherish.”

story posted April 4, 2008