Sen. Warner announces selection of NVTC to assist V-A with broken scheduling system

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) announced that the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) has been selected to examine and propose improvements to the scheduling processes and systems at Department of Veteran’s Affairs (V-A) medical facilities, at no cost to taxpayers.

Recent legislation to reform the V-A included Sen. Warner’s initiative directing the V-A to enlist the pro bono assistance of private sector technology experts to help fix their broken scheduling system.

“I applaud NVTC and their member companies for stepping up to help provide private-sector expertise to help the V-A improve the delivery of services to our military veterans,” Sen. Warner said. “I am grateful to NVTC for their leadership in working with the V-A to endorse this pro bono offer from a team of IT professionals committed to helping the V-A improve its processes.”

Sen. Warner began working on this pro-bono solution earlier this year following revelations that veterans were experiencing unacceptable delays in treatment at V-A medical centers. Since the legislation’s passage, NVTC and Sen. Warner have been working with the V-A to design a plan for a team of NVTC member companies to evaluate the V-A’s processes and systems and recommend improvements. With an agreement finalized, the NVTC team will begin the assessment project this week. The NVTC effort is being led by five member companies, which have volunteered their pro bono assistance on the project: Booz Allen Hamilton; IBM; the MITRE Corporation; SAIC; and HP.

“NVTC’s member companies are committed to supporting our nation’s veterans. Many of them were founded by and employ thousands of veterans,” said Bobbie Kilberg, President and CEO, NVTC. “We applaud Senator Warner for his leadership and look forward to working with the V-A on this collaborative pro bono effort to help assess and make recommendations to improve its scheduling challenges.”

This initiative builds upon a template established in 2011, when Sen. Warner partnered with the U.S. Army and NVTC to help design and implement a technology fix for Arlington National Cemetery after reports that the remains of warfighters had been misidentified and misplaced by Cemetery officials. An NVTC team worked with Cemetery officials to produce a comprehensive blueprint to correct and modernize the cemetery’s I-T and business practices.