Philips, Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion and U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs Team Up to Make Telehealth Remote
Virtual Care a Reality for Veterans
For the first time ever, U.S. Veterans will be able to receive
U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) health services at their
local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) or American Legion (Legion)
Posts through a multi-site pilot program dubbed ATLAS (Accessing
Telehealth through Local Area Stations).
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191016005697/en/
This first-of-its-kind telehealth initiative is the product of
an alliance between the VFW, VA, global health care leader Philips
(NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) and The American Legion, which allows
Veterans to conduct virtual appointments with their VA providers
without having to travel to a distant VA regional medical facility
or outpatient clinic.
“Our goal is to make sure every Veteran has access to health
care,” said VA Secretary, Robert Wilkie. “ATLAS eliminates another
health care hurdle for Veterans living in rural areas or with
limited Internet access, and it’s a great example of how public and
private organizations can work together to solve the challenges of
health care.”
The program launched its first installation at VFW Post 6786 in
Eureka, Montana. Other initial sites will be in Linesville,
Pennsylvania at VFW Post 7842 and Los Banos, California at VFW Post
2487/American Legion Post 166. The first American Legion site will
be in Springfield, VA at Post 176.
“VFW Post 6786 in downtown Eureka addresses the access challenge
for local Veterans,” said VFW National Commander William J. “Doc”
Schmitz. “Sitting inside state-of-the-art, private,
Internet-connected health care pods developed and donated by
Philips, Veterans will benefit from virtual appointments in
familiar surroundings conducted by VA medical professionals. This
removes geographic and digital barriers and is the latest way
today’s VFW Posts are innovating to address the needs of our
Veterans and their families.”
About a quarter of the nation’s nearly 20 million U.S. Veterans
live in remote or rural areas. These rural areas provide challenges
to delivering health care such as long travel times to facilities
or limited Internet connection. Many rural Veterans may also live
with multiple chronic, service-related disabilities or mobility
limitations which further hinder their ability to easily access
health care.
“I am very proud and honored to have our VFW Post as an ATLAS
site,” said VFW Post 6786 Commander Rick Weldon. “Our Veterans
currently expend a great deal of time and effort to reach the
nearest VA clinic. ATLAS provides a solution to this issue that
benefits both Veterans and VA staff.”
The Convergence of the VA, Veteran Service Organizations and
Philips Technology
In May 2018, the VA announced the passage of the MISSION Act,
which allows VA doctors, nurses and other health care providers to
administer care using telehealth technologies, regardless of
location of the provider or the Veteran.
The VFW and The American Legion are among the most prominent
Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) in the country with a
combined membership of more than 3 million. ATLAS leverages the
ubiquity of these Posts and extends the VA’s “Anywhere to Anywhere”
initiative to bring access to VA care to Veterans who live in
remote or rural areas.
ATLAS will use Philips telehealth patient monitoring solutions
including Wi-Fi-enabled electronic scales, blood pressure cuffs and
thermometers, as well as glucose meters and pulse oximeters linked
to a secure, high-speed Internet line. The sites will offer
services that do not require hands-on exams but may include primary
care, mental health counseling, clinical pharmacy, nutrition
services and social work.
To improve access to care, the VA has become a leader in
developing telehealth services delivering more than 1.3 million
video telehealth visits to more than 485,000 Veterans since the VA
Video Connect app was launched in 2017. In fiscal year 2019, VA
telehealth provided over 2.5 million episodes of care to
Veterans.
About Royal Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health
technology company focused on improving people's health and
enabling better outcomes across the health continuum from healthy
living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care.
Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and
consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in
the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging,
image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as
well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2018
sales of EUR 18.1 billion and employs approximately 78,000
employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News
about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.
About the VFW
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is the nation's largest
and oldest major war veterans organization. Founded in 1899, the
congressionally-chartered VFW is comprised entirely of eligible
veterans and military service members from the active, Guard and
Reserve forces. With more than 1.6 million VFW and Auxiliary
members located in 6,200 Posts worldwide, the nonprofit veterans
service organization is proud to proclaim “NO ONE DOES MORE FOR
VETERANS” than the VFW, which is dedicated to veterans’ service,
legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs.
For more information or to join, visit our website at
www.vfw.org.
About The American Legion
The American Legion is the largest wartime veterans service
organization with nearly 2 million members in 12,875 posts in
communities across the United States. Chartered by Congress in
1919, The American Legion is committed to mentoring youth and
sponsoring wholesome programs in our communities, advocating
patriotism and honor, promoting a strong national security, and
continued devotion to our fellow servicemembers and veterans. For
more information, go to legion.org.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191016005697/en/
Silvie Casanova Philips North America Tel.: +1-781-879-0692
E-mail: Silvie.casanova@philips.com
Randi K. Law Veterans of Foreign Wars Communications Manager
rlaw@vfw.org
Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE:PHG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Koninklijke Philips NV (NYSE:PHG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024