10 questions for Donna Vogel of the VA
By SUSAN SILVERS
Article Last Updated: 07/28/2008 12:02:32 AM EDT


When patients need help finding care, case managers are there to help. They can pave the way for people to get services ranging from counseling to appropriate medicine to hospital care to equipment for in-home care.
And for about 65,000 Connecticut veterans who get their care through the Veterans Administration, the person making sure things run smoothly is Donna Vogel. As the program director for care coordination and case management for the Veterans Administration in Connecticut since 1997, the 52-year-old Trumbull resident supervises a staff of more than 25 registered nurses and social workers in both Newington and West Haven and six outpatient centers that cover the state.

Vogel was recently saluted for her achievement and excellence as Case Manager of the Year by the Case Management Society of America.

Vogel, who has lived most of her life in town, is a graduate of St. Joseph High School in Trumbull and Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. She and her husband, Mark, a software engineer, are the parents of three grown children.

Vogel recently discussed the challenges and satisfaction of her career.

Q: How did you feel when you heard you were being honored as case manager of the year?

A: "I was really very, very honored. I was honored most of all because the VA would be honored for the work that they have supported My dad was a veteran. I honor and respect those who served for us. They also do cutting-edge research."

Q: What exactly is a

case manager?
A: "A case manager is a licensed professional who coordinates care in collaboration with the interdisciplinary team to provide patients with necessary services to reach their optimum health care needs. It helps patients navigate a complicated health-care system."

Q:. What qualifications does somebody have to have to be a case manager?

A: "A case manager is often a registered nurse or a social worker. Some are registered dietitians. Beyond that, someone needs to have verbal and communication and organizational skills, Everybody who does it gets specialized training in eligibility, in coordination of care and, depending on your specialty, pre-operative and operative care, or chronic illnesses."

Q: How do you identify your patients?

A: "Sometimes they're referred by primary or specialty physicians. Sometimes we can tell by frequent hospital stays or emergency room visits. That tells us they may not be getting medications."

Q: How do you go about your work?

A: "We do an assessment. We identify what the problem is. For example, someone not getting medications may need treatment for underlying depression."

Q: What sorts of care do you think you've been able to get for people who otherwise wouldn't have gotten it?

A: "There's no limit to what care we can get them. We get them access to a mental health provider, we get them to surgery, we get them to orthopedics."

Q: What services are becoming more important these days?

A: "There's a high priority to provide timely access to care for our returning combat veterans. VA is also focusing on end-of-life and hospice services for our aging veterans."

Q: What is the most satisfying case you've worked on? A: "A young ALS patient (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease) who's about 50 years old and has been home for six-and-a-half years. He's been set up with a special computer, which he uses to communicate with his one able finger. Among the assistance we provide are intermittent aides during the day, a skilled nurse and respiratory therapist. The bed is set up so he can look at his flowers in the window."

Q: What's the most disappointing aspect of your work?

A: "Sometimes we're more reactive than as proactive as we want to be."

Q: What trends are there in treatment now?

A: "VA nationally, and certainly locally, is putting a concerted effort into keeping patients home. And using technology to help promote self-management and prevent unnecessary travel to the medical center. For example, for a patient who is being managed for congestive heart failure or their diabetes, the home Telehealth technology enables patients to send blood pressure, weights and blood sugar levels from their home to a secure Web site where the data is viewed by a Telehealth care coordinator."

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