IFHC's PURPOSE

It works to enhance communication among public- and private-sector officials and to provide insights that can help them translate innovative thinking into policy and practical application. IFHC also promotes critical and creative thinking among leaders of the future.

SPOTLIGHT ON PROGRAMS OF NOTE

Presenting ideas and initiatives in federal agencies that entail collaborative effort, could serve as a model for others, or represent a new and exciting approach to some aspect of healthcare.

From time to time we will train out Spotlight on individuals who make a difference in federal health care.

The Military Health System (MHS) is considered to be one of the best available. While there are many individuals who have made this healthcare system a best in business enterprise, RADM Nancy Lescavage is a world-class leader who has made lasting and tremendous contributions to the MHS. She is a superb Navy officer and clinician who is dedicated to caring for our nation’s warriors and their families. Her mettle and forward focus has been a great contributing factor to the success of federal health care.

Admiral Lescavage distinguished herself with her exceptional service as Director, TRICARE Regional Office West (TRO-West), San Diego, California from July 2005 to December 2008.  She was hand selected for this position after serving as the Director of the Navy Nurse Corps where she established an outstanding record of performance with her expert testimony to the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and her efforts to revamp the Nurse Anesthesia Program, which was subsequently recognized by U.S. News and World Report as the third out of 100 such programs in the nation.  Admiral Lescavage’s management skills during her tenure as the Director of TRO-West and created vast improvements in TRO-West’s clinical, business, programs and contracting operations.

RADM Lescavage partnered with the Managed Care Support Contractor (MCSC) and met with key senior line officers and Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) leaders in the six West Region market areas to pinpoint opportunities to enhance purchased care operations, access to care, benefit coverage and managed care support contractor compliance. Her efforts led to improvements in over 60 areas.  Events surrounding care and treatment of wounded warriors at Walter Reed Army Hospital, led Admiral Lescavage to establish specific, targeted conferences to ensure TRICARE met the needs of this very important population.  She established conferences at three locations (Northwest, Southwest and Central Markets) with an agenda to bring all the key constituents together to ensure care to wounded warriors was a top priority and was delivered consistently across all agencies and services.  Her approach proved to be successful by identifying areas for improvement in acute transitions between medical facilities and regions, discharge planning and follow-up, provider access and access standards and National Guard and Reserve concerns.

She integrated healthcare services for more than 2.7 million beneficiaries throughout the 21-state and 126 tri-service Military Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs).  Her vision of an integrated healthcare delivery system shaped the region’s goals.  Her plans translated MHS strategy and 126 MTF business plans into a singular $4B cohesive plan for the West Region during the past three fiscal years.  Admiral Lescavage’s business acumen prompted the identification and development of critical initiatives which improved workload and population projections for Regional healthcare planning purposes, and served as a key source for identifying network provider shortfalls. She established 28 optimization projects which enhanced care to Active Duty service members, their families and retired veterans while saving $12 million in fiscal 2006.

Admiral Lescavage strongly advocated for ensuring the Military Health System Support Initiative (MHSSI) program control and funding was retained by the TRICARE Regional Offices and TRICARE Management Activity.  Her support resulted in FY07-08 MHSSI project funding of $9.4M for MTF optimization which created efficiencies in access to care and continuity of health services.  Her vast knowledge and expertise about contract administration helped refine the TRICARE program, designing processes to meet future healthcare demands while concurrently offering world class healthcare to military beneficiaries.  A vanguard for performance and accountability, she utilized the award fee process, a contractual mechanism to ensure compliance with the MCSC, to exceed contractor performance to unprecedented levels going from good to excellent in overall performance.  As a result, the Region she governed was chosen as the first recipient of the “Region of the Year Award” at the Military Healthcare System Conference in 2007.

Do you know someone whose contributions to federal health care should be recognized? If so, send a five-to-six paragraph review of the person's accomplishments to tomich@fedhealthinst.org. Include any relevant links and photos.

IFHC Roundtable Discussion How Can Federal Programs Help Boost E-Prescribing? The federal government is offering incentives through the Medicare program for physicians to engage in e-prescribing, a practice hindered not by technology but by provider concerns. Federal health care systems lead the way in e-prescribing. How can their experiences help move the private sector toward greater use of this technology? Are there collaborative efforts that should be undertaken? Read the summary of our roundtable discussion.

NANCY TOMICH

Support for this website is provided by Humana Military Healthcare Services

The Institute of Federal Health Care is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Financial support of USMI is tax deductible. A copy of our current financial statement is available upon request.