Prevention of veteran suicide in community settings: Patient safety resources

As a recently retired Army Nurse Corps officer with almost 30 years of service to my country, I want to ensure that my fellow nurse practitioners (NPs) are aware of their role in ensuring high quality and safe patient care to all veterans who are accessing care outside of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Specifically, NPs who work outside the VHA have an opportunity to participate in patient safety efforts aimed at reducing veteran suicide. On June 6, 2018, Congress passed Public Law 115-182 or the Veterans Affairs Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act. A goal of the MISSION Act is to ensure that veterans have access to health care by streamlining eligibility criteria for community care. A veteran who drives more than 30 minutes or waits more than 20 days for a primary care or mental health appointment may be eligible to be sent to a community care provider such as an NP. Therefore, NPs and other providers who work in community settings have an obligation to know more about the mental and physical health care needs of veterans as well as the resources that have been developed by the VHA to assist them.