Performance Improvement Management System

The Veterans Health Administration Performance Improvement Management System (VHA PIMS) is a web-based system that provides a consistent and efficient approach to plan, develop, evaluate, and improve emergency management activities throughout the VHA and enables multi-level participation and collaboration. ORAU developed PIMS to be a technology software solution to support the VHA’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Program.

VHA PIMS tracks information such as available volunteers and emergency resources for each VA medical center, thus helping VHA emergency managers to respond quickly to staffing and supply needs at hardest hit locations during a local emergency or natural disaster. The system also serves as a tool for volunteer registrations, so that volunteers can make themselves available to be deployed to areas where shelters and mobile medical units are needed to augment VA medical centers services.

PIMS contains a variety of emergency management tools and functionality, including:

Event Builder

The Event Builder tool facilitates the planning, building and management of exercises, and it provides the ability to document incidents. Event Builder was developed in accordance with Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) methodology.

The system auto-generates documentation including the Exercise Plan, Controller/Evaluator Handbook, Exercise Evaluator Guide, and the After-Action Report/Improvement Plan. Improvement plans and corrective action items are tracked for each exercise or incident.

Screen captures outline how the Event Builder program works:

Enter general information for an exercise or incident

Build and manage an incident command staff

Add targets under each exercise objective for evaluation

Use system-generated exercise evaluation guides (EEGs)

Add items to and manage the master scenario event list (MSEL)

Enter ratings and narratives for the After-Action Report/Improvement Plan (AAR/IP)

Use the system-generated AAR/IP for reporting and recording improvement items

Improvement items automatically appear on facility's profile page

Emergency Management Performance Improvement (EMPI) Funding Request and Tracking

As part of the emergency management exercise cycle, EMPI manages and tracks emergency management improvement funding requests. For VHA, EMPI is responsible for the management and tracking of emergency management funding requests for more than 1,700 sites of care.

DEMPS Management System (DMS)

DMS manages the VHA Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) volunteer program. DMS provides coordinators the ability to manage volunteers, determine who is in the process of becoming qualified for deployments, and identify those available to deploy. The system is used to respond to internal VA emergencies and to support a national mission following a Presidential Disaster Declaration.

Emergency Management Capabilities Assessment Program (EMCAP)

EMCAP supports the VHA’s Office of Emergency Management’s efforts to assess the preparedness of VA medical centers across the country. EMCAP contains a scheduling tool, an assessment team builder, real-time assessment scoring, and post-assessment findings and report generation.