VA SUNSHINE HEALTHCARE NETWORK (VISN 8)

The VA Sunshine Healthcare Network (VISN 8) is the nation’s largest system of hospitals and clinics serving a population of more than 1.6 million veterans in a vast 61,101 square mile area spread across 79 counties 8in Florida, South Georgia, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. VISN 8’s seven healthcare systems include eight VA medical centers and more than 50 outpatient clinics. About 23,800 full-time VISN employees work at these facilities.

VISN 8 is aggressively implementing the VA’s Systems Redesign guidance and sought NOVACES for training and coaching to initiate Lean Six Sigma improvement projects across the network of medical centers and outpatient clinics. The program included an in-depth review of Systems Redesign and the incorporation of the VA-TAMMCS model with Lean Six Sigma tools. NOVACES delivered Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt training—tailored for military and veteran healthcare audiences—to each of the VISN 8 hospitals, from senior medical officers to junior staff. Once the training was completed, VISN 8 required coaching services to facilitate improvement workshops and mentor trainees as they learned to complete improvement projects. At the time of publishing this webpage, there were more than 75 active improvement projects aimed at administrative, clinical, and operational performance improvements.