From staff reports
The Coastal S.C. Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Chapter presented on Friday, Aug. 5, its Outstanding Service Award to the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center’s (RHJVAMC) Emergency Department Psychiatry Access Team (PAC).
The RHJ VA Medical Center Psychiatry Access Team was commended for providing kind, compassionate, skilled, and empathetic mental health assessments and care to veterans and their families in 2022 and before.
The Coastal S.C. AUSA Chapter volunteer VP for Veteran Affairs, Lt. Col. W. Larry Dandridge presented the award at the Emergency Room in the RHJ VA Medical Center, at 109 Bee Street in Charleston.
The award consisted of a plaque and a framed letter of appreciation. The award was accepted by Dr. Tara Wright, RHJVA Health Care System Director of Mental Health Services Center; Dr. Virginia Villeponteaux, Chief of the PAC Team; Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Nakia Singleton; and LCSM Travis Thomas. The PAC Team is made up of Dr. Villeponteaux, LCSW Singleton, LCSW Thomas, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Myra Pinckney, and PMHNP Thomas (Kyle) Nygren.
The citation reads, “The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center’s (RHJVAMC) Psychiatry Access Team members are unsung heroes and are key contributors to Ralph H. Johnson VAMC’s top 10% performance for patient ratings of Emergency Room care. Providing onsite mental health consultation for patients presenting with mental health needs to the emergency department 365 days per year from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., the PAC team delivers highly skilled mental health assessments and compassionate care for veterans with urgent, emergent, and crisis conditions.”
“The PAC Team works with the veterans and their families to develop and implement a plan of care which could be anything from arranging acute hospitalization to discharging to the veteran’s home with mental health follow-up. Their primary focus is always the safety of the veteran, and as such, the PAC Team ensures that veterans are screened and assessed for suicide risk, drug addiction, the need for criminal justice assistance, and risk of homelessness, and collaborates with the veteran and his or her family in developing safety plans.”
Dandridge told the PAC Team that they are unsung champions of excellent mental health care and they are examples for other health professionals to follow. He also said that the PAC Team is one of the reasons that the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center is a world-class Patient and Family Centered Care (PFCC) medical center and the only hospital in S.C. to be habitually rated as a five-star medical center.
The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center and Health Care System has been rated by the Joint Commission to be in the top 10 percent of all public and private hospitals in the USA for many years based on customer satisfaction, quality of care, infection prevention, responsiveness, and dozens of other standards.
The Coastal S.C. Chapter of AUSA has adopted the RHJVA Medical Center and its Fisher House Charleston. The chapter has raised more than $50,000 in donations for the RHJVAMC and has also raised more than $70,000 for the Fisher House Charleston over the past 17 years. The chapter has also provided numerous volunteers at the VA Medical Center and collected thousands of dollars in needed supplies for the VA Medical Center and Fisher House Charleston.
The Coastal S.C. AUSA Chapter members have volunteered at many VA Medical Center events and have frequently joined with other patriotic organizations to help provide funds and supplies that are needed by veterans and their families but are not covered by VA appropriated funding
To volunteer at or donate to the RHJVAMC, one of its Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC), or Fisher House Charleston, please contact the RHJVAMC Voluntary Services by phone at 843-789-7230 or email at VHACHAVAVS@ va.gov. For more information, visit https://www.charleston. va.gov/giving/index.asp.
