VA New England Healthcare System
New England Selected for VA Center of Innovation Excellence
November 20, 2020
BEDFORD, Mass., — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced yesterday the development of the VA New England Center for Innovation Excellence (NECIE), furthering the opportunity for public-private partnerships to transform care and service for our nation’s Veterans. The newest center for Innovation to Impact will enable the VA New England Healthcare System and its regional VA Healthcare facilities to participate at the center of breakthrough innovation through co-development and advancement of innovative solutions while securing priority access for Veterans to obtain potentially life-saving medical treatment and devices. Additionally, the center’s partnerships will offer the innovation community practical healthcare provider input to the development process, a natural clinical trial partner and real-world patient input from the Veteran community.
Ryan Lilly, network director, VA New England Healthcare System will head up the center, “I am honored to be leading this important work on behalf of the department and the key positions are already in place. We are eager to welcome the new partnerships and services born out of the center’s development and to scale them throughout the VA.”
NECIE is exploring a post-marketing clinical study of CVS Kidney Care’s HemoCare Hemodialysis System[i], a dialysis machine developed by DEKA Research and Development, Corp. (DEKA) for home use. This post-marketing clinical study is being explored for partnership with VA Manchester Healthcare System and would be operated under the leadership of VA NECIE.
“VA Manchester’s Community Living Center is the perfect location to trial in-home modernizations in dialysis,” said Kevin Forrest, director, VA Manchester Healthcare System. “COVID-19 has shown us all the value of in-home service and my fellow Veterans certainly deserve to be first in line for these types of life-altering therapies.”
“NECIE will be one of five targeted VA National Centers for Innovation to Impact we believe will help transform care not only for VA, but for healthcare writ large, “said Ryan Vega, M.D., Executive Director of the VHA Innovation Ecosystem. “VA is expanding its modernization efforts in New England, the east coast “Silicon Valley” because of the depth in workforce expertise as well as the department’s proven partnership success with the region and its industry leaders.”
The Secretary’s Center for Strategic Partnerships facilitated collaborations for NECIE’s development with internal VA programs and facilities as well as with intended external partners CVS Kidney Care and DEKA. “New Hampshire’s demonstrated persistence, compassion and patriotism makes it the perfect fit for VA’s newest center of innovation,” said Deborah Scher, Executive Advisor to the Secretary who leads the Secretary’s Center for Strategic Partnerships.
ABOUT VA NEW ENGLAND: VA New England Healthcare System, or VISN 1, is one of 18 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VISN 1 serves 260,000 Veterans at its 11 medical centers, 45 CBOCs, six community living centers and two domiciliaries.
For more information contact Kristin Pressly, Interim Portfolio Manager, Secretary’s Center for Strategic Planning at Kristin.Pressly@va.gov or by phone (603) 722-9527.
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[i] CAUTION--Investigational device currently being evaluated in a clinical trial. Limited by Federal (or United States) law to investigational use
