Innovation At VA: App Offered To Hurricane Sandy Victims

A mobile app originally developed to aid veterans has been offered to mental health personnel helping Hurricane Sandy's victims, an example of how innovation and technology within the federal government can have a broader reach than ever before.

The Department of Veterans Affairs sent a notice to a national list of emergency responders or their organizations last week about the Psychological First Aid (PFA Mobile) app for disaster responders. The app aids mental health providers and other response workers who provide Psychological First Aid (PFA) to children and adults affected by disaster.

Since the notice was sent, the app has been downloaded more than 1,800 times, according to the VA. Downloads have been increasing steadily in the past week, said Kathleen Frisbee, Director of Web and Mobile Solutions in the Veterans Health Administration's Office of Informatics and Analytics...