Jeffrey Beiler II says it’s a little unsettling to serve as the new executive director of the Lebanon VA Medical Center, a position he assumed in early September.
“It’s funny that at our last leadership meeting, which is the first one I was back for, I said, ‘It’s humbling to be back in this position, and to be very honest it’s a little intimidating,’” said Beiler. “I mean, you are stepping into a facility that is operating at the highest level of the (entire VAMC) organization. You have big shoes to fill to keep that momentum going and to keep motivating our employees to continue operating at that level.”
While he may be somewhat intimidated, he’s also up for the challenge to keep the Lebanon VAMC at the top of its game. Based on patient experience and employee satisfaction surveys, the Lebanon VAMC has been voted the best center of the 172 located nationwide for three consecutive years.
Read More: Lebanon VA again named top level 2 VA facility for patient experience nationwide
“In sports, how many teams win the series or whatever three years in a row?” asked Beiler. “It says a lot that Lebanon has won that three years in a row, but it is a little intimidating and humbling to keep it at the top. Three years in a row speaks to the culture, the frontline staff who are making sure we are taking care of our veterans.”
Staff culture is a major contributor to the center’s top ranking.
“We all in the VA system have a special mission, but I think the employees here really understand the mission of whom we have the privilege of serving,” said Beiler. “That culture of teamwork that makes sure we do everything we can to take care of the veterans and meet their needs.”
Another factor is the staff’s work ethic, he added, saying it must be part of the Pennsylvania Dutch culture that makes the center’s employees such diligent and dedicated workers.
“Clearly the work ethic and it’s really the frontline staff,” said Beiler. “It goes back to that culture of courtesy, decency and treating others with respect.”
The center’s and Lebanon Valley’s culture were factors in Beiler deciding to apply for the position after former director Robert Callahan announced his retirement. Beiler’s hiring marks his third stint at the Lebanon VAMC.
From late January until September, Beiler had been detailed as the interim director of the Wilmington VAMC in Delaware. Prior to that role, he served as the director of the Coatesville VAMC and held many leadership roles throughout the VAMC system. His previous gigs at the Lebanon VAMC include as chief financial officer from 2001 until 2008 and associate director from 2017 to 2020.
“It’s been great being back,” said Beiler. “It’s only been three years this month since I left, so a lot of the staff were still here and everyone’s been very welcoming. That’s why I keep coming back. All of the VAs are great, we have a wonderful mission and we all have the privilege to serve veterans. (But) Lebanon is a wonderful place.”
Coming home to a center he loves doesn’t necessarily make his job any easier.
For starters, there’s the 13 percent employee turnover rate, which he believes is in line for that industry but gets complicated by VAMCs being a public sector employer.
“We struggle with recruitment,” said Beiler. “The private sector is offering huge sign-on bonuses and huge retention incentives and sometimes they offer salaries that we just can’t compete with. We still have challenges in finding nurses, psychiatrists and GI docs. Some of those folks make money that the federal government can’t afford to pay.”
Another healthcare industry challenge is ensuring not only the well-being of the patients in the center’s charge but also the 2,200 employees who work there.
“That’s been a focus of the last year or two for employee burnout and particularly physician burnout,” said Beiler. “Again, I believe the VA system in Lebanon has done a good job of meeting with the physician and what can we do to balance your workload. To offload some of this red tape and these things that aren’t important but take up a lot of your time. We’ve worked to reduce those types of things.”
Beiler said the center has an employee experience officer who colloborates closely with the frontline staff to identify how work/life balance can be improved. The center also offers different tours of duty to accommodate the employees.
“We also have employee appreciation events, quality fairs where we focus on performance-improvement initiatives,” added Beiler. “I think it is a combination of listening to them and getting their feedback and doing our best. We can’t eliminate every headache they are going to experience. It still is healthcare, government healthcare.”
Another challenge that impacts the entire VAMC system and not just Lebanon’s is greater outreach to those men and women who served their country.
“We want to provide more services to more veterans,” said Beiler. “How do we reach veterans who still either aren’t using us or aren’t aware of the services we provide and still haven’t given us a try yet?”
Prior to his arrival, Beiler said the Department of Military Affairs worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to acquire the names of those who own veteran license plates or have that designation on their driver’s license.
Across Pennsylvania, over 3,000 new veterans were enrolled in the VAMC system, with 730 being local to Lebanon during the first wave of outreach.
“Out-of-the-box thinking that happens here at Lebanon,” said Beiler. “I don’t know that anybody else has done that with their state. Our goal in the coming year is making sure we are providing more care to more veterans.”
The Lebanon VAMC network is across a nine-county area in south-central Pennsylvania covering Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, Schuylkill and York counties. Lebanon VAMC also oversees community clinics located at Fort Indiantown Gap and in Mechanicsburg, Lancaster, Pottsville, Wyomissing and York.
Another top priority across the entire VAMC system is the mental well-being of veterans.
“Everyone here at this facility and at each of our five community clinics has dedicated behavioral psychiatrists/psychologists,” said Beiler. “We have it integrated into our primary care appointments with them. We always do a screening with them to ask about any issues, concerns with suicide.”
The center’s public affairs department told LebTown there are 16.8 veteran suicides per day nationwide with 10 of those having no connection to VA healthcare.
Read More: The VA wants you to know: Help is available for veterans who need it
“Generally, more than half of them are not connected, not plugged into a VA, and they are not getting that kind of healthcare from the VA,” said Beiler. “Again, that’s why we really do (focus). We’re here, you’ve earned this, you deserve this.”
An immediate response is triggered whenever a veteran seeks assistance.
“If they identify that they are struggling with anything we have a warm handoff to somebody who is in that primary care team – that’s either a psychologist or a social worker – that we can hand them off so they can meet with them on the spot,” said Beiler. “One of the nice things about the VA is those wrap-around services that we’re able to provide to veterans in our clinics that are not always available in the community.”
Expansion of the center’s behavioral health services department to ensure there is easy access is “an absolute focus” during Beiler’s tenure. Part of that focus includes continuing to prioritize the center’s drug and alcohol counseling services.
“We know we provide better behavioral services than most folks are able to provide in the community,” said Beiler. “So, we want to make sure our veterans are taking advantage of that and that we’re keeping them in our system and providing the services that they’ve earned.”
Beiler said he believes the VAMC system is better than the private sector because of its singular mission to serve veterans.
“All we take care of is veterans, so our staff get to know the veterans and kind of know how they think,” said Beiler. “Many of the staff are veterans and I think that is another positive of working in the VA system. There is a camaraderie of veterans taking care of veterans.”
After spending the past 26 1/2 years working across the VAMC system, Beiler said he’s seen more than his share of veterans who defer VA care to other vets they believe are more deserving. That’s an issue that Beiler would like to end.
“Vets are always humble and they want to make sure that their buddy or someone who might need it more has access or they say let them use it,” Beiler said. “‘That’s my job to make sure we have access. We take care of any veteran who wants to come to us. You’ve earned this, the VA has great healthcare. And it’s not all or nothing, either.”
Beiler said vets who choose to keep a specialist or other healthcare practitioner are encouraged to keep seeing that individual, adding the VA is happy to partner with other industry professionals to ensure every patient receives the very best care.
Heading into 2024 and beyond, several large projects loom on the horizon for the Lebanon VAMC.
Beiler said the Berks County center will relocate and nearly double in size, new clinics will be built while exisiting satellite centers grow to provide greater access in veterans’ local communities and more specialized healthcare services will be added throughout the Lebanon VAMC system.
The main campus in South Lebanon Township will grow when construction is completed on a $12.9-million, 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art primary care facility.
“Our number one goal is more access and continue to provide high quality healthcare and services to our veterans,” said Beiler. “Another one of our big things in the coming year and coming years is the expansion of those community clinics so there is less distance for our veterans to travel to receive care.”
LebTown asked Beiler if he had a message he would like to share with veterans given the area’s large veteran population.
“If you would get the word out about the services at the VA, specifically the services that Lebanon provides,” said Beiler. “Those veterans who aren’t utilizing us, give us a try because 99 out of 100 veterans are very impressed and very happy with the care they get once they get in and realize all that’s available to them.”
Any veteran interested in learning more about healthcare services through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs at the Lebanon VAMC should contact the Lebanon VAMC at 717-272-6621, ext. 6000.
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