VISTA Staffing Solutions (www.vistastaff.com), a leader in government physician staffing, brought three respected, former senior military medical leaders together to discuss medical staffing issues at the recent 2005 TRICARE Conference. The Honorable Dr. Enrique Mendez, Vice Admiral (Ret), former Assistant Secretary of Defense; Major General Dr. Harold M. Koenig (Ret), former Surgeon General; and Dr. Robert A. Buethe, former Acting Surgeon General, praised temporary physician staffing solutions like those provided by VISTA Staffing as an excellent means for providing continuity of quality medical care on the home-front while military physicians are serving the needs of U.S. armed forces worldwide.
Ongoing deployments and burgeoning patient populations are challenging today’s military treatment facilities, creating a need for reliable sources of fully credentialed, temporary physicians. "Not every deployment of military medical forces permits long lead times," stated Harold M. Koenig, M.D, VADM, U.S. Navy, (Ret). "Look at the Department of Defense (DoD)’s response to the tsunami in South Asia. We had medical teams responding within days and the USN Hospital Mercy is arriving in the area. VISTA Staffing provides a perfect solution-and a necessary arrow in our quiver-by allowing us to sustain our critical medical care capabilities at home while rapidly responding to crises abroad."
Katie Abby, VISTA’s chief operating officer and president of the National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations (NALTO), introduced the physicians at a TRICARE reception sponsored by VISTA for the lead medical staff officer from each of the nation’s military treatment facilities. TRICARE is the Department of Defense (DoD)’s health care program for the uniformed services, their families and survivors. This year’s conference highlighted health affairs, TRICARE management activity and the surgeons’ general priorities. According to Abby, VISTA is stepping up its efforts to serve the DoD, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Indian Health Service facilities nationwide. The company initiated a critical dialogue at the TRICARE conference about how locum tenens physicians could alleviate some of the challenges faced by the Military Health System and ensure reasonable access to high-quality care for military personnel and their families.
"At VISTA, we have long been aware of the value that locum tenens staffing can provide for a number of government agencies," said Abby. "With the military deployments all over the world right now, the solutions we offer at VISTA can make the difference in ensuring that our military delivers quality medical care, both here and abroad."
During the conference, Robert A. Buethe, M.D., Maj Gen, U.S. Air Force (Ret), noted, "The ops tempo in today’s military is unprecedented for the all-volunteer force. And while our medical forces are performing heroic, life-saving work in the theater, we are still operating a peacetime health system back home. Our commanders need flexibility and quality civilian medical support to meet these demands...and VISTA Staffing provides that."
VISTA offers the Military Heath System a resource of more than 1,100 physicians from almost every medical specialty. Each physician is carefully credentialed through a process that meets or exceeds standards set by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). VISTA Staffing Solutions is committed to matching the skills and experience of its physicians to the specific needs of each medical treatment facility.
VISTA Staffing Solutions (www.vistastaff.com) is a leading provider of temporary physician staffing and permanent physician search services. Founded in 1990, the employee-owned company helps hospitals, medical practices and government agencies solve their physician staffing challenges. VISTA is the only agency that offers short- and long-term domestic jobs, international work opportunities, and permanent placement for physicians. The company is a founding member of the National Association of Locum Tenens Organizations (NALTO).