Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection of the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana
Report Information
Summary
This Office of Inspector General Comprehensive Healthcare Inspection Program report describes the results of a focused evaluation of the inpatient and outpatient care provided at the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center and multiple outpatient clinics in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. This evaluation focused on five key operational areas:
• Leadership and organizational risks
• Quality, safety, and value
• Medical staff privileging
• Environment of care
• Mental health (emergency department and urgent care center suicide prevention initiatives)
The OIG issued 15 recommendations for improvement in three areas:
1. Medical Staff Privileging
• Focused Professional Practice Evaluation completion
• Equivalent specialized training and similar privileges
• Service-specific criteria
• Privileging and reprivileging recommendations
2. Environment of Care
• Inspection frequency
• Naloxone in Automated External Defibrillator cabinets
• Expired supplies
• Clean floors
• Safe and functional environment
• Furnishings safe and in good repair
• Damaged walls
• Stained ceiling tiles
• Signage in areas with recording equipment
3. Mental Health
• Assessment of lethality of most recent suicide attempt



The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures service chiefs complete Focused Professional Practice Evaluations for all licensed independent practitioners.
The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures practitioners with equivalent specialized training and similar privileges complete licensed independent practitioners’ professional practice evaluations.
The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures service chiefs incorporate service-specific criteria in licensed independent practitioners’ professional practice evaluations.
The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures service chiefs consider relevant Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation data in reprivileging recommendations.
The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures the Medical Executive Board uses professional practice evaluation results to recommend privileges for licensed independent practitioners.
The Medical Center Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures staff conduct environment of care inspections in patient care areas at the required frequency.
The Medical Center Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures Automated External Defibrillator cabinets containing naloxone have alarms set in the “on” position, contain tamper-evident seals, display laminated “N” signs, and include naloxone inspection logs and administration reference cards.
The Medical Center Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures staff check inventory in clean storerooms and remove expired supplies in the Emergency Department and medical/surgical inpatient unit.
The Associate Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures the Chief of Environmental Management Service maintains clean floors in the Dialysis Unit and medical/surgical inpatient unit clean storage and supply rooms.
The Associate Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures staff maintain safe and functional environments in the Dialysis Unit and medical/surgical inpatient unit.
The Associate Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures staff keep furnishings safe and in good repair in the intensive care and medical/surgical inpatient units.
The Associate Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures staff repair damaged walls in the Dental Clinic and Emergency Department.
The Associate Director evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures staff replace stained ceiling tiles in the Emergency Department and Primary Care Red Team.
The Medical Center Director determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures staff post signage where recording equipment is used in the intensive care and medical/surgical inpatient units, Dental Clinic, and Primary Care Red Team indicating the areas are subject to photography, digital imaging, video, or audio recording.
The Chief of Staff evaluates and determines any additional reasons for noncompliance and ensures providers assess whether patients’ most recent suicide attempt was their most lethal when completing the Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluation.