female narrator: AFTER WORLD WAR II,
THERE WAS A NEED FOR V.A. PHYSICIANS TRAINED
TO MEET THE UNPRECEDENTED HEALTH CARE NEEDS
OF OUR RETURNING VETERANS,
AN ESTIMATED 16 MILLION TO 20 MILLION
COMING HOME FROM SERVICE TO THEIR COUNTRY.
IN 1946, V.A. POLICY MEMORANDUM NUMBER 2
PROVIDED THE LEGAL BASIS FOR AFFILIATIONS
BETWEEN V.A. AND THE NATION'S MEDICAL SCHOOLS.
- MEMORANDUM NUMBER 2 WAS A BRILLIANT INITIATIVE
TO BRING TOGETHER THE BEST OF MEDICAL CARE
AND ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTERS,
THE BEST OF RESEARCH AND THE BEST OF EDUCATION
TOGETHER WITH THE EMERGING V.A. PROGRAM.
- THIS IS A 65-YEAR RELATIONSHIP
THAT HAS ENRICHED AND EMBEDDED ITSELF, I THINK,
NOT ONLY IN OUR CLINICAL CARE AND EDUCATION MISSION
BUT ALSO IN OUR RESEARCH MISSION.
- THE EXISTENCE OF ACADEMIC AFFILIATES
IMPROVES THE RESEARCH AT THE V.A.
THE EXISTENCE OF THE V.A.
IMPROVES THE RESEARCH POSSIBLE AT THE ACADEMIC AFFILIATE.
narrator: IN THE DECADES FOLLOWING
THE SIGNING OF MEMORANDUM NUMBER 2,
AS MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE EXPANDED
AND THE HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF VETERANS BECAME MORE COMPLEX,
THE ABILITY TO CONDUCT SOPHISTICATED MEDICAL RESEARCH
BECAME ONE OF V.A.'S TOP PRIORITIES.
WHAT BEGAN IN 1946 AS AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION
TO THE NATION'S CRITICAL HEALTH CARE CHALLENGE
BECAME AN ENDURING PARTNERSHIP
OF RESEARCH, DISCOVERY, AND INNOVATION
IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE NATION'S VETERANS
WITH THE HIGHEST QUALITY, MOST ADVANCED HEALTH CARE.
THE COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN V.A. AND ITS ACADEMIC PARTNERS
ARE KEY TO:
AS WELL AS:
- OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES,
THE NEEDS THAT VETERANS HAVE HAD IN TERMS OF HEALTH CARE
HAS GROWN ENORMOUSLY BECAUSE THE DISORDERS THAT THEY HAVE
JUST BECOME A LOT MORE COMPLEX,
AND AT THE SAME TIME,
I THINK OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THOSE DISORDERS
AND THE TREATMENTS THAT WE HAVE FOR THESE DISORDERS
HAS GROWN BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS.
- TO TRANSLATE DISCOVERIES FROM THE BENCH TO THE BEDSIDE,
IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THOSE BRIDGES
BETWEEN A BASIC LABORATORY DISCOVERY
AND A APPLICATION TO CLINICAL MEDICINE
BE EXPLORED AND DEVELOPED.
- WHAT THE V.A. UNIVERSITY AFFILIATION HAS DONE
HAS BROUGHT A FOCUS ON PRACTICE,
ON, "HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE CARE IN LARGE HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS?"
AND HAS BROUGHT ACADEMICS TO AN APPRECIATION
OF THE V.A. AS A UNIQUE LABORATORY
FOR HEALTH CARE SERVICE DELIVERY
AND FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF TREATMENTS.
- A SUBSTANTIAL PART OF OUR EMPHASIS IS ON DISCOVERY,
TRANSFORMING MEDICINE, MAKING IT BETTER,
MAKING IT BETTER, MAKING IT MORE INNOVATIVE,
MAKING DISCOVERY BECOME ALIVE.
- TREATMENT FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE,
A VACCINE FOR SHINGLES, BETTER PROSTHETICS:
THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT CAME OUT OF THE V.A.
AND THEY BENEFIT NOT JUST VETERANS.
THEY HAVE AN IMMENSE SPINOFF EFFECT
FOR THE POPULATION AT LARGE,
AND IT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED
IF THE V.A. WERE NOT ABLE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN
THE BEST RESEARCHERS IN THE WORLD.
AND WHAT HELPS THE V.A. DO THAT IS ITS AFFILIATIONS
WITH LEADING UNIVERSITIES AND MEDICAL SCHOOLS.
- IT IS AN ONGOING RELATIONSHIP THAT HAS BENEFITED THE VETERANS
AT ALL STAGES OF THEIR CARE,
FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE TRAINING OF INVESTIGATORS
TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE.
- V.A.s PROVIDE A PLACE WHERE ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTERS
CAN TRAIN THEIR YOUNG PEOPLE.
SO THERE'S LOTS OF PATIENTS THAT CAN BE SEEN
AND TAKEN CARE OF.
SO IT EXPANDS THE DIVERSITY OF PATIENT POPULATION
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.
IT ALSO EXPANDS THE TYPES OF DISEASES
THAT CAN BE STUDIED.
- I SEE THE COMMITMENT THE V.A. HAS
TO YOUNG INVESTIGATORS LIKE MYSELF
IN TERMS OF HELPING THEM GET ESTABLISHED
AS LEADERS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE FIELD.
- I CHOSE THIS RESIDENCY BECAUSE OF THE COLLABORATION
BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY AND THE V.A.
ALLOWING ME TO DO RESEARCH AND CLINICAL WORK BOTH PLACES.
narrator: TO THIS DAY,
V.A.'S PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE NATION'S MEDICAL SCHOOLS
NOT ONLY THRIVE BUT ARE VITAL
TO THE HEALTH OF OUR VETERANS AND THE NATION.
- THE LEGACY OF THIS IS IN PART A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
WITH PHYSICIAN SCIENTISTS AND OTHER SCIENTISTS,
INCLUDING IMPLEMENTATION SCIENTISTS
WHO CAN ADVANCE CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH,
QUALITY RESEARCH, SAFETY RESEARCH,
AND OTHER KINDS OF CLINICAL RESEARCH
OVER THE NEXT DECADES.
- I SEE, AS A FORMER MEDICAL SCHOOL DEAN,
SO MANY BENEFITS FOR THE ACADEMIC PARTNERS.
THEY GET A CHANCE TO TAKE CARE
OF A VITALLY IMPORTANT POPULATION OF AMERICANS
IN WHAT IS A WONDERFULLY INTEGRATED
HIGH-TECHNOLOGY HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.
- THE MERGER CREATES A SUM
THAT IS MUCH GREATER THAN ITS PARTS,
AND THIS IS, I THINK, SOMETHING THAT HAS DONE
A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT FOR SOCIETY AS WELL AS FOR VETERANS.
narrator: V.A. RESEARCH,
IMPROVING VETERANS' LIVES.