State Veterans Homes Using the VistA System

In October 2003, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Under Secretary for Health issued guidance to its healthcare facilities across the country on a nationwide initiative to make the VA Veterans Health Information Systems & Technology Architecture (VistA) and Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) available for use by all interested state veterans homes.

The state veterans homes program is the oldest federal-state partnership in federal government and represents a sizeable commitment by VA to states for shared construction costs and ongoing per diem payments for veterans' care in long-term settings. This effort is part of the VA HealthePeople long-range strategy to pursue collaborative partnerships with other healthcare organizations in the public and private sector.