The CARES program and aspects of CAM have continued to be marketed at professional educational activities and to veterans at health fairs at the medical center. Additional funding sources and small grants have helped to sustain the educational programs and restock the carts, particularly the current VA-funded T21 grant to manage patients with delirium. Future funding opportunities continue to be explored. Additionally future directions would include the incorporation of various other methods of CAM, which were unable to be explored in this time-limited project, including acupuncture, chiropractic manipulation, and massage therapy.
Though evaluations of educational programs were very positive and subjective feedback from the use of the carts and mobile sleepers was positive, it was not possible to establish a direct correlation between improved patient and family satisfaction and health care. Future directions of program evaluation should focus on objective measurements, which can be directly linked to program impact on satisfaction. It is hoped that the inclusion of CAM will contribute to continued improvements in quality and patient satisfaction throughout the entire VAHCS.
Acknowledgements
This manuscript and the program described are the results of work funded by the VHA Innovations for Patient Centered Care and supported by the use of resources and facilities at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, specifically, the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC).
Author disclosures
The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest with regard to this article.
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the U.S. Government, or any of its agencies. This article may discuss unlabeled or investigational use of certain drugs. Please review complete prescribing information for specific drugs or drug combinations—including indications, contraindications, warnings, and adverse effects—before administering pharmacologic therapy to patients.
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