IMPACT ANNUAL REPORT 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS 2
EXECUTIVE LETTER
4
INNOVATION
12
EXCELLENCE
18
COMMITMENT
26
INSIGHT
30
OPPORTUNITY
36 PROFILE 37 Leadership 39 Services 40 Recognition 40 Clients 41 Contract Vehicles
INNOVATION 5 Smart Money Works Harder
6 Swimming with Sharks 7 Grants that Keep on Giving
8 There’s an App for That 10 Better Outcomes from
EXCELLENCE 13 A Revitalized Resource for High-Impact Research
15 Seamless Transitions for Wounded Warriors 16 A Talent for
Transformation
COMMITMENT 19 25 Victories in the
Fight Against Veteran Homelessness
21 Fielding Champions
for Homeless Veterans
22 Real Choices for Rural Veterans
25 Strength in Numbers
INSIGHT
OPPORTUNITY
27 The Next Leap Forward
31 Level the Playing Field
28 Care Providers Stay
33 No Longer an
29 On the Front Lines of
34 Family Planning for the
Ahead of the Curve
HIV Infection
Exception
21st Century
35 The Beginning of
the End for Health Disparities
Better Assessments
11 Stories that can Change Lives
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TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS Market Environment In 2015 federal contractors faced a market characterized by Congressionally imposed spending caps, softening demand for government services, profitsqueezing competition, and procurement strategies that prioritized price above value. But in the midst of what many across the industry viewed as adverse market conditions, we saw opportunity. With the right investments in talent and an emphasis on capture, our objectives were to greatly expand our market presence, strengthen an already strong brand reputation, and deliver greater impact for our clients, the challenges they face, and the populations they serve. This clarity of purpose enabled us to achieve momentum that has put Atlas Research on a path to become a thriving middle market player.
Our Impact In reflecting on the year gone by – in conversations with clients, employees, and partners – the recurring theme we heard was, in a word, “impact.” We achieved it in several strategically significant ways. The foundation was the fielding of a more powerful organization, which we achieved by recruiting proven business developers and seasoned consultants. With Atlas increasingly regarded as synonymous with dynamism and growth, we attracted high
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performers from across the industry. Second, we continued to win enterpriselevel work and strategic contract vehicles supporting major organizational transformation and performance improvement initiatives, where the missions are more encompassing and our contribution to them is magnified. Third, we built and acquired greater breadth and depth of management consulting capabilities, which enabled us to bring sustainable innovation and excellence to client programs and projects. And, lastly, we laid the groundwork to project new capacity and capabilities into adjacent markets, both within and external to our core Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) client spaces. Since our founding, we have been committed to doing impactful work that improves the health and wellbeing of our fellow citizens, and that did not change in 2015. If we had to point to a single achievement that exemplifies the kind of year we had, it might be the $85 million Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) that Atlas was awarded to provide program management support for key transformation initiatives at VA. Through that single-award, five-year contract vehicle, we are providing a comprehensive range of program management support and performance improvement services to stakeholders within the second largest agency of the federal government. The work puts Atlas at the heart of VA’s efforts to transform its culture and improve operations, including key initiatives under the MyVA reorganization plan; efforts to improve the compensation and pension examination process; hospital activation teams to expand VA health facility capacity; leadership and access improvement projects; and many more. Teams of Atlas researchers and consultants also worked on HHS and VA projects to modernize federal health care systems, end homelessness among Veterans, improve HIV prevention and care, end health disparities, and many other meaningful goals. Our impact has grown broader and deeper.
2015 HIGHLIGHTS Our People
A Look Forward
Another constant in 2015 was investment in our people. We expect our employees to be strong exemplars and leaders who push the envelope, yet we also ask them to be selfless and supportive when it comes to serving clients. Not everyone can do both, especially under deadline pressure. Our people can, and they deserve an environment where they can excel. With that in mind, we continued to give significant management attention to keeping our diverse organization healthy, happy, and productive and making investments to strengthen our corporate culture.
As we look ahead to 2016, we are pursuing ambitious financial goals for revenue growth and profitability while recruiting exceptional talent and strengthening corporate systems and processes for sustained impact. All these efforts are in service to the same purpose: doing meaningful work that radiates widely and positively across the communities in which we work, live, and serve. In the dimensions that matter to us most, we reached or surpassed our goals in 2015. We look forward to delivering on our potential again in 2016.
225% 3-YEAR REVENUE GROWTH
2013 2014
2015
55
Industry Recognition
Ryung Suh, MD, MPH, MBA, MPP Chief Executive Officer
(new contracts, options exercised, and new vehicles)
ACTIVE CONTRACT VEHICLES Atlas serves as prime contractor on half
39%
Mark H. Chichester, JD 15 20
14
President 20
From the outset, our aspiration has been to build and run the kind of company we would want to work for. While we believe we have made strides in that direction, it is still gratifying to receive recognition for doing so from our industry peers. We were honored to receive the GovCon Contractors of the Year Award ($25M annual revenue) and the Small and Emerging Contractor Advisory Forum Contractor of the Year Award ($12M-$25M annual revenue) as well as the SmartCEO GovStar Industry Star Award and inclusion in Inc. magazine’s list of 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies. This recognition validates the hard work of our employees and builds valuable brand equity.
Total Wins
EMPLOYEE GROWTH (vs. 2014)
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Innovation Not all innovation is created equal. Atlas Research brings clients new ideas born of expertise and experience, so they map to the real world and get impact fast. That doesn’t mean less disruption; it means innovation takes hold where it can flourish best and produce lasting changes. And because we collaborate so effectively with clients and stakeholders, each project we complete opens doors to more opportunities to make a difference. 4 www.atlasresearch.us
SMART MONEY WORKS HARDER
Accelerating implementation of innovative financial models Health care in the U.S. is motivated by a stark reality: the nation pays more than other countries per capita, but that leadership in spending does not always generate the most positive outcomes. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed to change this equation and that means changing the way the nation pays for care. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) insure most of the nation’s elderly, whose care late in life consumes a disproportionate share of overall health care spending. That means CMS can have a powerful impact. With smarter payment models, it should be possible to create financial incentives for providers that reduce spending while maintaining or improving the quality of care for beneficiaries.
within communities with a high burden of chronic disease including depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and chronic smoking. This project highlights Atlas' ability to contribute to innovation within the nation’s health care system by exploring ways to target ineffective spending and improve care for millions of people. NOTICE: This technical data was produced for the U. S. Government under Contract Number HHSM-500-2012-00008I, and is subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation Clause 52.227-14, Rights in Data - General. No other use other than that granted to the U. S. Government, or to those acting on behalf of the U. S. Government under that Clause, is authorized without the express written permission of The MITRE Corporation. For further information, please contact The MITRE Corporation, Contracts Management Office, 7515 Colshire Drive, McLean, VA 22102-7539, (703) 983-6000. © 2016 The MITRE Corporation
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After passage of the ACA, CMS established a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) and charged it with assembling and implementing a portfolio of new payment models. These models are attuned to the diseases, treatments, and medical procedures most commonly associated with seniors, such as cardiac care. To identify its most promising innovations and accelerate them into action, CMMI contracted with the CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare, a federally funded research and development center that includes Atlas Research as an alliance partner and is operated by The MITRE Corporation. Atlas experts provided analytic expertise, subject matter content reviews, and economic models that forecasted the return on investment for implementing new approaches to care
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SWIMMING WITH SHARKS
Increasing the impact of health care innovation for Veterans Most reality TV shows take a process from life and turn it into entertainment. In 2015, Atlas Research decided to flip the script and make television work for reality. It all started when the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) launched an initiative to diffuse innovations and best practices throughout its more than 1,700 sites of care. One of the keys was bringing innovators together with early adopters so that new ideas could start taking root throughout the VHA system. The initiative included a competition among innovations, and Atlas helped to make it happen quickly.
Instead of the usual slow-burn process of winnowing out ideas over many months, Atlas proposed a sprint that led directly to a “shark tank” like the one in the popular reality show on ABC television. In mid-December of 2015, VHA provided the Atlas team, which included ERPi, with more than 250 practices submitted by VHA personnel around the country. In just two weeks, the team helped VHA senior leadership cull out the 20 most promising innovations across four practice areas: access to care, care coordination, employee engagement, and quality and safety. Atlas then helped the people behind those 20 finalists – including doctors, researchers, even a chaplain – prepare rapid-fire presentations to sell their ideas to the “sharks”: VAMC directors and regional leaders who would bid to fund
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adoption or diffusion of the innovation within their own medical centers and regions. The finalists went into “the tank” just two weeks later. Almost every presentation received multiple bids. Often the bidders joined forces to invest in ideas or fund training for implementation. Some even brought in partners from the Department of Defense. All the “sharks” that did not make a winning bid on an innovation reported afterward that they were interested in pursuing it anyway. This of course is exactly what the VHA wanted: to get early adopters not just aware of innovations but excited to put resources behind them. That ensures that great ideas really will become reality and benefit the audience they are ultimately intended for: Veterans. n
8.76
MILLION Approximate number of Veterans served annually at more than 1,700 sites of care within the Veterans Health Administration
GRANTS THAT KEEP ON GIVING
Ensuring that funding for innovation is making a difference The U.S. federal government supports a vast amount of health-related research through various departments, institutes, and agencies. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) stands out because it uses research to make health care safer as well as more effective, accessible, equitable, and affordable. AHRQ funds research into health care quality and safety, creates materials to teach and train health care providers, and generates measures for evaluating health care performance in the U.S.
As part of its mission, AHRQ funds research by “emerging” investigators in the health sciences – those with great promise for significant contributions to society. True to its focus on quality, AHRQ evaluates the effectiveness of its own research grants. This ensures that its grantees are doing work that enhances the fields of medical research, practice, and policy. For a high-quality assessment in 2015, AHRQ turned to Atlas Research. A key consideration was Atlas’ proven ability to deliver strategic insights that inform high-level policies and major societal investments, particularly in the health care arena. Atlas teamed with Abt Associates to design a study that would enable more than 100 AHRQ grantees to report in a consistent, measurable way on the results of their funded research, the
“Our Veterans deserve the best medical care in the world, but what is best today may not be tomorrow. Health care keeps evolving, and best practices have to be constantly renewed. Helping to diffuse innovation throughout the largest health care system in the country is a tremendous opportunity for Atlas Research to have a positive impact. It is especially energizing when we can be innovative in how we spread innovation.” — Hillary Peabody, MPH, PMP, SSGB, Senior Manager, Atlas Research
CLIENT: Veterans Health Administration (VHA) PROJECT: Diffuse innovation throughout VHA’s national network of health care facilities by identifying new ideas and generating excitement to implement them widely IMPACT: In fewer than two months, VHA gathered 250 innovative ideas, selected 20 high-impact candidates, and inspired VHA health care leaders to back them with resources for implementation
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Michael A. Sabo Joins Atlas Research Michael A. Sabo, MBA, FACHE, joined Atlas Research in 2015 as Director of Health Transformation, after a distinguished career at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). He is a recognized leader in health care innovation, including new models of care delivery. Mr. Sabo was the 2014 American Hospital Association Federal Executive of the Year and has received three Presidential Meritorious Rank Awards. He served on numerous VA national committees and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
progress of their careers, and their impact on their fields. The first step was indepth assessment of current practices for evaluating the effectiveness of health care research grants, the success of health care researchers, and the challenges that career researchers face. The Atlas team then created a survey for AHRQ grantees that earned an unusually high 76 percent response rate. AHRQ received the results of the study in 2015. They strongly confirmed that AHRQ grants are helping to launch successful research careers that yield important work. For example, AHRQ grantees on average are able to win followon grants at a higher rate and publish results of their work more widely. Atlas also delivered a companion report on the study methodology so that AHRQ can yet again maximize the return from funded research. n
THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT
Bringing mobile health care apps to market more efficiently
Atlas Welcomes Jason W. Forrester as Senior Fellow
Technology is one of the keys for unlocking efficiency in any organization, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is putting its power to work in many areas. One of the most intriguing is the development of web and mobile apps for Veterans health programs.
In 2015 Jason W. Forrester joined Atlas Research as a Senior Fellow. Mr. Forrester is an expert in health and employment challenges and opportunities for the post-9/11 generation of Service Members, Veterans, and military families. He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the National Guard and Reserve.
The VA App Store is steadily filling up with new wares for Veterans and their health care providers. Take “Annie App,” for example, which makes self-care more systematic. Annie sends text messages that remind Veterans to gather and track data on diet, blood pressure, blood sugar, and other measures. She also reminds patients about appointments. Providers can set the app to serve individual Veterans’ needs, use it to monitor patient messages, and broadcast messages to targeted patient populations. As with any app, success for VA apps depends on tight design and execution. To get them, the app development organization within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) contracted with Atlas Research. Atlas understands the
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larger transformation going on with VA and what it means in practical terms: providing more patientcentered care, using smarter technology, and collaborating more readily with partners outside the agency. Atlas knows Veterans and their health issues at the grassroots level, based on numerous previous projects. And Atlas is expert with project management, the art of turning many small contributions into a significant result. Together with partner Booz Allen Hamilton, Atlas helped with dozens of new VHA apps in 2015. For more than a dozen of them, Atlas Research helped define the requirements of success: what the apps need to do, for whom, and how. For apps already past that stage, Atlas coordinated development: ensuring accountability of contract vendors, documenting their progress, and preparing weekly and monthly status reports for stakeholders. Atlas also delivered training plans for 23 inprogress apps and developed both video and webinar training to support national releases. Altogether, the Atlas team worked on more than 50 new VHA apps during 2015. This project demonstrates that Atlas Research continues to leverage its deep domain knowledge and proven management expertise into new growth opportunities and more ways to deliver positive impact for clients. n
Atlas Research helped define what new apps need to do, for whom, and how. Altogether the Atlas team worked on more than 50 apps for VHA. 2015 Annual Report 
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BETTER OUTCOMES FROM BETTER ASSESSMENTS
Reengineering patient evaluations to improve home health care In 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found itself at the intersection of two transformative trends: the push for outcome-based payments to care providers and explosive growth in the number of home health care providers. With estimated payments of $17.9 billion to provide home health care for approximately 3.5 million beneficiaries in 2015, CMS needed to make sure it was driving innovation, not getting run over. One of the top priorities was responding to new health care legislation, the IMPACT Act of 2014, which requires standardized quality metrics for hospitals, clinics, and others that provide post-acute care to Medicare beneficiaries. One of the provider groups specifically mentioned in the Act is Home Health Agencies (HHAs).
CLIENT: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program PROJECT: Improve the effectiveness of a standard set of metrics (OASIS) used by health care providers to assess patient health and their outcomes for purposes of reimbursement by CMS, for application in the home health care setting IMPACT: The QIO Program received an expert, independent assessment of all 81 measures in OASIS; recommendations for reengineering certain existing measures; and proposals for new measures specific to home health care
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In order to get certified by CMS, health care providers must assess patients and their outcomes using a standard set of measures known as OASIS (Outcome and Assessment Information Set). There are 81 measures in OASIS designed to determine a patient’s status before and after a period of care. For example, one measure concerns a patient’s ability to walk unaided, which is fundamental to quality of life and ability to care for oneself. Ambulation is measured on a five-point scale at the beginning of care and after a patient is discharged from a health care facility. Along with other measures this helps to determine how the patient has progressed. OASIS data provides a snapshot of the outcome for each patient. With data from many patients, it’s also possible to identify providers that are that are delivering better and more affordable care. Just as importantly, OASIS data helps CMS adjust reimbursement rates to create incentives for providers to deliver more affordable high-quality care. For all these reasons, CMS and its Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program needed insights. How effective are current OASIS measures in the home health care setting? What new measures would make OASIS work even better for HHAs?
“Affordable care that produces better outcomes for patients is a challenging combination to achieve, especially in a rapidly emerging area like home health care. One of the keys is assessing patients more accurately before and after they receive care because that allows the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to create more successful incentives for health care providers. With a more effective assessment methodology, the system works better for everybody.” — Dianne Fragueiro, MPH, Project Manager, Atlas Research
17.9
BILLION Cost in 2015 to provide home health care to 3.5 million beneficiaries of Medicare and Medicaid
Atlas Research delivered, drawing on its knowledge of health care delivery and expertise in conducting both quantitative and qualitative research using rigorous methodologies. The Atlas team, including partner Abt Associates, first assessed all current measures included in OASIS by investigating research databases and medical literature. This provided the QIO Program with an independent, expert view of which measures needed re-engineering and which should be used more widely. The Atlas team then recommended new measures designed especially for HHAs and their patients and also provided expert input on how CMS can use OASIS data to create an easy-to-use “five-star” rating system for HHAs on CMS consumer websites. n
STORIES THAT CAN CHANGE LIVES Inspiring people to overcome behavioral health challenges
about the many negatives connected with substance abuse, but we hear few stories of successful recovery. These inspiring stories can fundamentally change the perception among substances abusers: treatment works and getting help is better than struggling alone. To achieve this change, it is vital to disseminate stories of recovery as widely as possible. As part of its work for SAMHSA, Atlas has already researched and analyzed best practices for discovering and presenting treatment success stories via digital media. In 2016, Atlas is developing a best-practice manual that breaks down the process step by step. The manual explains how to approach potential storytellers, how to capture their stories on video, and how to publish them effectively on websites and social media. The digital storytelling manual will be available to hundreds of SAMHSA stakeholders, including hospitals, clinics, rehab centers, community mental health centers, home health care workers, telemedicine services, and other treatment providers. When people begin using the manual, they can call Atlas and talk to a trained digital storyteller for assistance or guidance. n
The ancient Greek ideal of “a sound mind in a sound body” seems ever more difficult to achieve. In the U.S. today, half of us can expect to experience symptoms of a mental or behavioral health issue at some in point in our lives. Addiction is one of the worst. In 2014, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) conducted the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Survey data show that 21.2 million Americans ages 12 and older needed treatment for an illegal drug or alcohol use problem in 2014. Unfortunately, most people are not getting treatment. NSDUH data showed that only about 2.5 million people – less than one in seven – received specialized treatment for substance abuse in the previous 12 months. In 2015, Atlas Research began helping SAMHSA break down one of the most insidious barriers to getting treatment: perception. We all receive reminders 2015 Annual Report
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Excellence There is a reason that “best practices� are better than the others: they are the result of sharper thinking, deeper knowledge, and more practical experience. Atlas Research brings clients all three so that their pursuit of excellence gets the traction and acceleration it needs. Whether it is helping to identify best practices or putting them into practice, Atlas Research knows how to make higher performance the new normal for its clients. 12 www.atlasresearch.us
A REVITALIZED RESOURCE FOR HIGH-IMPACT RESEARCH Keeping a vital national R&D organization at the forefront of excellence
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Services Research & Development Service (HSR&D) has been one of the nation’s leading medical research organizations for decades, beginning with studies of tuberculosis in the 1940s. Its focus on VA-only, single-issue, multiyear studies worked well until technology, society, and warfare all went through tumultuous changes late in the 20th century. Today, the field of medical research is multi-disciplinary, collaborative, and distance-independent. Lead investigators around the world work together virtually, conducting complementary inquiries. Excellence means sourcing ideas and execution beyond one’s own organization. In 2013, HSR&D brought this approach to VA with a funding program called “CREATE” – Collaborative Research to Enhance and Advance Transformation and Excellence. The first funding round for the new program includes ten “CREATEs” in core areas of interest to VA: PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), women’s health, pain management, long-term care, substance abuse, hospital-based infection, access to behavioral health care for rural Veterans, and more. The CREATE model includes multiple studies in each of the ten areas. This develops a critical mass of knowledge that empowers health care facilities to adopt new models of care, allocate resources more effectively, and deliver better outcomes for patients. CREATE research is also collaborative by definition: VA doctors and researchers design studies that they conduct with peers, other VA Medical Centers,
Program Offices, and experts across VA. This helps ensure that research results will stand up to peer review and lead to higher-quality care for patients. In 2015, Atlas Research began conducting research on the researchers, including more than 100 interviews with principal investigators, their staffs, and CREATE directors. This critical component of the CREATE program will help HSR&D answer some questions of its own. Are the collaborations delivering the expected results? Are the projects within each CREATE proceeding on the complementary tracks their researchers envisioned? Are there ways to strengthen CREATE systems or processes? With its expertise in health care and government programs combined with domain knowledge of Veterans’ issues, Atlas is perfectly positioned to help HSR&D remain at the forefront of innovation and excellence in health care research. n
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New Five-Year Contract Award to Support VA Transformation In October of 2015, Atlas Research won its largest-ever contract, placing the company at the heart of a transformation in the second-largest agency of the U.S. federal government. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Enterprise Integration established a single-award, five-year Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with Atlas Research to provide a wide range of professional support services. The BPA has an estimated value of $85 million, with no ceiling. The overarching purpose of the BPA is to bring best practices to the management of VA programs and projects, including the Lean Management framework, the Six Sigma framework, and the combined Lean Six Sigma (LSS) approach. All three help organizations permanently change how they view challenges, allocate resources, empower people, and get results. The BPA enables Atlas to build on the strong relationships and momentum it has already achieved with VA and increase its contribution to the Department’s ambitious goals. Atlas has already demonstrated 14 www.atlasresearch.us
success with projects in support of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (“Choice Act”) and with key initiatives under the “MyVA” reorganization plan. Atlas also played a key role in helping VA respond to controversy in 2014 by strategically assessing the operations-based risks in VA’s national network of health care facilities.
transform core operating activities such as supply chain management. The strategic value of the BPA cannot be measured by its size and length alone. Atlas Research is now in position to deliver far greater positive impact on behalf of 22 million Veterans, their millions of caregivers, and the 365,000 VA employees dedicated to serving them.
Under the BPA, any VA organization can draw on Atlas Research expertise and experience in program and project management, process improvement, and best practice implementation. Key partners for this work include previous Atlas collaborators Deloitte Consulting, Evoke Research and Consulting, Sigma Health Consulting, and gMg Management.
Program Planning and Program Management Office (PMO) SME Tiger Teams
Lean Six
Sigma Within weeks of the BPA award, Engagements Atlas was already at work on and Interventions large-scale projects aimed at making VA leaner and faster while improving access to care for Veterans. Initial assignments included revamping the entire compensation and pension Six Sigma DMAIC examination process for Veterans Studies with disabilities and helping VA activate new hospitals mandated under the Choice Act. Atlas is also working to
PMLSS SERVICES
Lean Management Engagements and Interventions
Requirements Development and Management
Systems Engineering Support
Enterprise Program and Integration Support
SEAMLESS TRANSITIONS FOR WOUNDED WARRIORS Facilitating a strategic breakthrough in interagency cooperation
After a decade of conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere, the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) could proudly point to more than 50 combined programs that provide for Service Members and Veterans suffering from wounds, injuries, or illness. Yet, the two Departments continued to manage these programs separately, often with different terminology and processes. Of the more than 250 policies that governed the programs, few
were integrated, making it difficult for Service Members and Veterans to navigate through the maze of federal programs. This realization spurred the two Departments to create the Interagency Care Coordination Committee (IC3) in 2012. IC3’s stated goal was “One Mission – One Policy – One Plan” for caring for America’s wounded warriors. Atlas Research was selected as the prime contractor for helping IC3 reach the goal based on its deep knowledge of Veterans’ issues and proven ability to tackle complex challenges with fresh perspectives. Atlas partnered with Deloitte Consulting and Ward Circle Strategies. IC3’s goal is a smooth transition from DoD services to VA benefits as Service Members become Veterans, so that they never lack the support they are entitled to. This in turn can dramatically reduce depression, homelessness, 2015 Annual Report
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and other risks. The first phase of implementation focuses on Service Members and Veterans who require complex care and management. The Atlas team helped the committee identify all relevant policies and programs and, as a trusted partner, supported both Departments as they facilitated breakthrough agreements on joint oversight.
knitting DoD and VA programs into a seamless experience for users. On the infrastructure side, for example, Atlas helped build and launch the Community of Practice “Co-Lab,” a secure website where DoD and VA care providers can learn about each other’s programs, find each other, and locate relevant resources.
The Atlas team helped facilitate the formation of the detailed plan, including the necessary technology platform, for helping warriors maximize their recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration into society. This resulted in an Interagency Comprehensive Plan and Checklist that documents the full spectrum of care, benefits, and services across the two Departments. What was once a maze became a set of well-marked pathways.
On the personnel side, Atlas supported care management experts as they defined and began communicating about the role of “Lead Coordinator,” which will be played by more than 2,700 staff members at DoD and VA. Lead Coordinators serve as a single point of contact for wounded warriors and their families, guiding them to and through programs for health care, employment, housing, legal and financial support, and more. Atlas experts helped develop and implement training for Lead Coordinators, which began in June of 2015.
Atlas played an even greater role in the creation of a new “Community of Practice” approach for
CLIENT: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) PROJECT: Supporting the Interagency Care Coordination Committee, a joint effort between VA and Department of Defense (DoD), formed to improve the care and benefits coordination process for severely wounded, ill, and injured Service Members and Veterans IMPACT: A “Community of Practice” approach that knits DoD and VA programs into a seamless experience for Service Members and Veterans, including “Lead Coordinators” within the two Departments who serve as primary points of contact for access to health care and other support programs provided by the Departments
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For the national roll-out of IC3, Atlas Research helped the Committee identify the schedules, metrics, and assessment tools it will need to make “One Mission – One Goal – One Plan” work in the real world. For a preview of what success will look like, Atlas created a short video featuring Lead Coordinators and Veterans; it is online at http://bit.ly/1N1ActT. n
A TALENT FOR TRANSFORMATION
Ensuring higher-quality investments in people, programs, and infrastructure The Department of Veterans Affairs is transforming itself, and that means new opportunities for excellence in VA’s training and career development
“Veterans and Service Members today face an often overwhelming experience in getting the care and services they deserve. That is why Atlas jumped at the chance to help DoD and VA implement their IC3 strategy; it delivers more coordinated care, benefits, and services. More than ever, people with the most complex cases can focus on healing and their future.” — Kate Viggiano, MS, PMP, Senior Manager, Atlas Research
ONE
The vision for coordination between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs in providing care to Veterans and Service Members: “One Mission – One Policy – One Plan.”
organization. VA Learning University (VALU) provides both required and optional training and education for more than 365,000 VA personnel across a broad range of business, technical, and career development topics. Offerings range from entry-level orientations for incoming staffers to advanced courses for specialists and managers. Since 2014, Atlas Research has been leading a team that is helping VALU bring best practices to its business processes, systems, and infrastructure. This work touches every aspect of VALU’s operations from the design and management of IT systems to the way VALU markets its offerings. The unifying theme is helping VALU align its contribution more consistently with the priorities of VA overall. Atlas Research partners for the contract include Liberty IT Solutions and Booz Allen Hamilton.
Atlas Research is helping VA Learning University bring best practices to processes, systems, and infrastructure.
One of the most strategic assets of VALU is its Talent Management System (TMS). As in the corporate sector, the TMS includes confidential career information about everyone in the organization. A successful TMS provides abundant avenues for employees to develop their potential, such as a robust library of attractive online courses. At the same time, it must give management sophisticated tools and intelligence for guiding employee development both individually and for the organization as a whole. The Atlas team helped VALU envision, plan, and design a more powerful TMS in 2015 for rollout by early 2016. In particular, the team helped VALU achieve nearly seamless integration of the new TMS with other human resources programs that VA employees depend on. That is one of the secrets for success in launching enterprise-wide employee programs, and Atlas experts made sure VALU benefited from it. n
Atlas Research Names Jack Hughes to Advisory Board John (“Jack”) Hughes joined the Atlas Research corporate advisory board in 2015. As principal of Phoenix Financial and Advisory Services, he advises small and mid-sized organizations in government and the private sector. Before founding Phoenix, Mr. Hughes held executive positions at large and fast-growing federal contractors, including Alion Science and Technology Corp., BTG Inc., and Mantech International Corp.
Andy Pasternak Joins Atlas Research Andy Pasternak, MA Ed, joined Atlas Research as Vice President in 2015 to strengthen practice areas related to excellence in training, learning, and human performance. He has 25 years of experience designing and implementing education, training, and learning programs for the government and the private sector, and has expert knowledge of the full scope of learning modalities. At the federal level, he has managed contracts for the Food and Drug Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, and Department of Agriculture, among others.
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Commitment Atlas Research has its roots in the Veteran experience: where they have been, what they have absorbed, and what they need to return to society at their best. We remain committed to helping society keep its promise to Veterans in vitally important ways: setting strategies, implementing programs, improving performance, and generating insights in how to better serve those who devote their lives to their country. 18 www.atlasresearch.us
25 VICTORIES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST VETERAN HOMELESSNESS
Ending Veteran homelessness across the nation In 2009, President Barack Obama and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced a plan to end homelessness for U.S. Veterans. In 2013, Atlas Research joined the effort, working in partnership with Community Solutions and Rapid Results Institute to focus on the 25
U.S. cities with the largest populations of homeless Veterans. In 2015, this unprecedented project showed impressive results. Nearly all 25 cities can now identify and track every Veteran experiencing homelessness in their community by name, and they all have a coordinated entry system for bringing homeless Veterans into the local homelessness support network and streamlining the housing placement process. Four of the 25 cities – New Orleans, Houston, Las Vegas, and Philadelphia – announced an official end to Veteran homelessness as defined by federal benchmarks and criteria. In addition, New York City and Boston have officially ended homelessness for Veterans experiencing chronic homelessness, four other cities believe they have met the criteria for ending Veteran 2015 Annual Report
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homelessness and are awaiting official verification. Nationwide, the Atlas team helped participating communities house 19,849 Veterans during 2015. Success in “ending” homelessness actually means that a community has systems in place to ensure that episodes of homelessness among Veterans are rare, brief, and non-recurring. This has been a local VA, community-driven, and all-inclusive effort, with contributions from hundreds of organizations across the country working to end homelessness. The 25 Cities program brought all the necessary players together to achieve an end to Veteran homelessness in every participating community. The team implemented a massive grassroots effort to coordinate the activities of public, private, and non-profit agencies that provide homeless services at every level.
CLIENT: Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans PROJECT: Coordinate homelessness activities and programs among all public, private, and non-profit agencies in the 25 U.S. cities with the largest populations of homeless Veterans IMPACT: Seven cities have ended homelessness or applied for recognition; two have ended it for chronically homeless Veterans; all cities have implemented Coordinated Entry Systems (CES); and 23 have developed by-name lists to identify, track, and manage the progress of every homeless Veteran in their community ONLINE: www.25cities.com
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One of the key objectives was creating a Coordinated Entry System (CES) in each city. The CES enables local agencies to connect with all Veterans experiencing homelessness on a consistent and standardized basis and guide each Veteran to the right resources to meet their individual needs. Achieving success with CES required bringing together dozens of agencies, forging consensus, and implementing systems to streamline the sharing and use of information. Local coordination is mirrored on the national level by Atlas-led programs to share data and best practices among the 25 cities.
and landlords. Conventional wisdom has forced people experiencing homelessness to meet challenging requirements in order to gain access to housing, such as providing a large security deposit to secure a rental agreement or committing to resolve behavioral health issues. The “housing first” model gets homeless individuals a home first, free from preconditions, making it far more likely that they will succeed in both housing and addressing other life issues. Atlas and its partners drew deeply on their expertise and experience to help make the new model a success for agencies and landlords alike.
Another success for the 25 Cities program has been supporting the “housing first” model for ending homelessness. Though it has been studied and validated for more than a decade, the model still represents a shift in thinking for many agencies
Behind the scenes, the Atlas team has extensively documented and reported on its progress with the 25 Cities program, so that the lessons learned can be applied everywhere, for all populations, and help end homelessness throughout the nation. n
“There are far too many homeless Veterans in our country, and we need collaborative efforts at the grassroots level to address this challenge. The 25 Cities program is having a huge impact by bringing local agencies and programs together to develop robust community systems and connect Veterans to permanent housing. We are fighting to reach our goal of ending Veteran homelessness on behalf of all of the men and women who signed up to fight for us.” — Samantha Rudnick, MPH, Senior Consultant, Atlas Research
19,849 U.S. Veterans at risk of homelessness who were housed by the 25 Cities project in 2015
FIELDING CHAMPIONS FOR HOMELESS VETERANS
Empowering communities to systematically reduce the risk of homelessness Homelessness is one of the more complex human conditions that society wrestles with, because lacking a “home” is only the most obvious physical manifestation. Research shows that nearly all people who slip into homelessness, even for brief periods, are struggling in other vital areas of life. The most common challenge is employment: close to 90 percent of people who are homeless are also unemployed or under-employed, and those with jobs tend to be homeless for much shorter periods. In recognition, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plan to end homelessness among Veterans includes a strong focus on employment. VA’s Homeless Program Office funds programs that support Veteran employment, and there are countless community-based organizations around the country that can help Veterans find, get, and
keep a job they want to do. The challenge is making every day and every dollar count for the tens of thousands of homeless Veterans across the nation. To accomplish this, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Homeless Program Office funded Community Employment Coordinators (CECs) at more than 150 VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) around the country. Their role is to be “champions” for homeless Veterans in their community by coordinating and maximizing the impact of resources across the homeless services continuum. Turning employees into champions is not automatic, and it does not happen overnight. Careful preparation, strong motivation, and excellent tools are essential. To give the CECs these advantages and more, the VHA Homeless Program Office contracted with Atlas Research. Along with partner Advocates for Human Potential (AHP), Atlas educated, trained, and closely mentored the CECs while also developing tools and other resources they use to help Veterans stay employed and housed. The team gave each VAMC a plan for implementing the CEC program and supporting its personnel and then followed up with a report on the level of implementation each VAMC had achieved. n
Winterhaven Event for DC Area Homeless Veterans For the fifth consecutive year, Atlas Research supported the Winterhaven Homeless Stand Down event at the Washington, DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Held on January 24, 2015, the full-day program offered health screenings, housing and employment counseling, dental exams, food, and clothing to homeless and at-risk Veterans from the community. More than 70 government and community groups support the Winterhaven event, which is a part of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initiative to end Veteran homelessness.
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The Veterans Choice Program allows Veterans to receive health care from providers outside the VHA network.
REAL CHOICES FOR RURAL VETERANS
Ensuring that all Veterans get access to the services and care they deserve The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 created the Veterans Choice Program, which allows Veterans to receive health care from community-based providers outside the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). This fundamental change comes as the entire Department of Veterans Affairs 22 www.atlasresearch.us
(VA) is undergoing a transformation to “MyVA” – revamping policies and programs with the goals of becoming more responsive and client-centered, more technologically advanced, and more successful in collaborating with outside organizations. During 2015 Atlas Research helped implement the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record program, serving Veterans more individually and using health care IT to facilitate collaboration with outside health care providers. Quality care for Veterans in the community setting depends on access to their health information. Clinics and hospitals get this access via VHA e-health systems that host and manage Veterans’ “Virtual Lifetime Electronic Records”
(VLER). These systems allow community providers to access Veteran medical records and exchange information using secure email and electronic Health Information Exchange (HIE). The Veterans Choice Program strategy is particularly important to rural Veterans because the two eligibility requirements are based on time and distance. Veterans must face a 30-day wait for VA care or live more than 40 miles from a VA medical facility. This makes “choice” a critically important benefit to Veterans living outside urban areas, where most VA medical centers are located. VHA’s Office of Rural Health recognized this by providing funding for Veterans’ Health Information Exchange (VHIE) coordinators in 55 rural VA medical facilities. Atlas Research and partner Information Innovators Inc. (Triple-i) have recruited, trained, and fielded VHIE coordinators (also known as “rural health care community coordinators”) in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Atlas also provides a lead coordinator for the entire Midwest region. Atlas was chosen to handle a large section of the country based on its experience with Veterans’ issues and rural health
care and because of its expertise in facilitating trusted collaborations between organizations that may be working together for the first time. One of the top priorities for VHIE coordinators has been education. Atlas works with VHIE coordinators to teach them about VLER and HIE. They in turn generate awareness among Veterans, who must authorize access to their records in order for the information exchange to take place. VA providers need to know where and how to access private-sector information from within the VA system, which may necessitate technological adjustments or enhancements. Atlas VHIE coordinators have successfully engaged with everyone in the equation to make the health information exchange work for Veterans and VA alike. n
VHA can now serve Veterans more individually and collaborate more effectively with their outside health care providers.
21st Annual TAPS Honor Guard Gala Atlas Research team members and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) paid tribute to those who provide compassionate care to surviving family members of America’s fallen military heroes at the TAPS Annual Honor Guard Gala on March 18, 2015. The event brings together those who share a commitment to honoring our nation’s fallen heroes. Attendees include senior military officials, corporate and association executives, military survivor families, political leaders, and Administration officials. TAPS is a nonprofit organization that offers support and services to family members coping with the death of a loved one who served in the military or supported a military mission. This was the second year Atlas supported the Honor Guard Gala as a freedom sponsor.
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29th Annual National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic In 2015 Atlas Research was a proud sponsor of the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, held annually in Snowmass Village, Colorado. The clinic brings together Veterans, their families, sponsors, and volunteers to celebrate the resilience of Veterans and disabled active-duty Service Members. The weeklong event is organized by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV). It provides instruction in adaptive skiing using sit-skis, mono-skis, and bi-skis and also teaches alpine and Nordic skiing for stand-up skiers. For those inclined to stay off the slopes, the clinic offers scuba diving, rock climbing, and other learning activities. 24 www.atlasresearch.us
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Giving millions of Americans greater power to succeed with a vital mission For millions of U.S. Veterans with injuries or illness, the person they rely on most is typically not a health care provider — it is a spouse, family member, or friend that provides daily care. The demands on these caregivers have increased at both ends of the age spectrum. For more than a decade, younger Veterans have been returning from the battlefield with complex physical injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Meanwhile, older Veterans are living longer, which greatly increases their likelihood of suffering chronic, behavioral, and cognitive illness. Many caregivers also have jobs, careers, and children, yet they selflessly devote much of their own lives to the Veterans they care for. Since 2011, Atlas and Easter Seals have worked together to ensure that caregivers receive better information, more tools, and stronger support from their country. As part of a large-scale effort by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Atlas assembles teams of experts to design and conduct education
and training programs for caregivers. The courses cover essential home health care topics, such as safety, wellness, and prevention. They also teach caregivers about legal and financial matters, technology, and communication, and the vital importance of taking care of themselves. Training content is available in three different forms so that caregivers can fit it into their busy lives most conveniently. They can learn on their own using workbooks, CDs, and DVDs; they can participate in an interactive online format; and they can attend classroom courses with live instructors and facilitators. The courses are available in both English and Spanish. The teams, assembled and managed by Atlas, have trained and certified more than 30,000 caregivers who support post9/11 Veterans. In January of 2015, Easter Seals contracted with Atlas to deliver complete project management support for a new series of webinars for caregivers of Veterans. Later in the year, the webinar series received a 2015 Caregiver Friendly® award from Today’s Caregiver magazine and was recognized by Robert A. McDonald, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, at the Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s 2015 Hidden Heroes Coalition Summit. n
“Cocktails with Canines” Funds Service Dogs for Veterans Members of the Atlas team sponsored and attended “Cocktails with Canines,” the annual fundraiser for Veterans Moving Forward, Inc. VMF is a non-profit organization that provides service dogs and canine therapy services to Veterans at no cost. The event raised funds to support the training of service and therapy dogs.
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Insight Infectious diseases are as natural as the elements, which means there will always be an urgent need to understand them better and address them more intelligently. Atlas Research provides the nation’s infectious disease experts with insights into one of the most deadly viruses, for both prevention and treatment.
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THE NEXT LEAP FORWARD
Delivering insights about local effectiveness in combating HIV The largely successful effort to slow the spread of HIV in the U.S. masks one continuing tragedy. A demographic group that represents only around two percent of the nation’s population suffers more than half of new HIV infections. That group is known as men who have sex with men (MSM), regardless of the sexual orientation they identify with. In 2015, Atlas Research shone a light on what is going on and what can be done. Nationwide, MSM account for an average of more than 25,000 new infections each year, but this statistic also masks surprising variation. Surveillance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that there are wide geographic disparities in the prevalence of HIV, awareness of it, and incidence of new infections among MSM. In other words, information on HIV prevention may be available nationwide, but some communities are clearly doing better than others, particularly with the MSM population. To understand why, and help lagging communities catch up, CDC established a Local Effectiveness Assessment Project (LEAP). The pilot study was awarded to Atlas Research as prime contractor, with partner Abt Associates. The Atlas team designed the multi-level study to include public-sector health leaders and policy makers; community-based organizations that deliver HIV-related research, advocacy, or services; and HIV-positive individuals. Atlas investigators then worked with the Department of Public Health in Philadelphia, which has a high rate of HIV among MSM, to recruit representative individuals for the study. Along with
A demographic that represents only around two percent of the nation’s population suffers more than half of new HIV infections.
conducting intensive in-person interviews, the Atlas team observed local HIV prevention activities online and at well attended public events, such as Philadelphia’s 25th annual OutFest event celebrating the LGBT community. Findings from the pilot study are to be presented to CDC in the first half of 2016. CDC can then implement the study in other communities and build out the LEAP knowledge base. Ultimately, that knowledge will help communities around the country achieve greater success in preventing HIV among their highest-risk population segment. Atlas Research sought the work for multiple reasons, starting with the company’s core mission of improving public health for priority populations. The study also showcased the company’s rare blend of academic knowledge, field experience, program expertise, and keen insights into how research can create understanding powerful enough to effect change. n 2015 Annual Report
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CARE PROVIDERS STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Showing how HIV care providers can fulfill their mission more effectively Every individual infected by HIV faces a lifelong struggle to get and sustain quality care. Those who provide that care are often locked in struggles of their own for resources, peer support, and even the will to carry on against a deadly virus.
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Atlas Research has studied and advised the federal government on many aspects of HIV, and that knowledge and experience went into an influential study completed in 2015 for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The result was up-to-date intelligence on HIV care providers and their world: what motivates them, how they see their work, and what factors affect their ability to provide continuous and coordinated care to people living with HIV. Insights from the study informed new CDC guidelines and outreach efforts to HIV care providers later in the year. The Atlas team, which included partner Abt Associates, selected nine HIV care organizations in
three cities that are disproportionately affected by HIV: Washington, Atlanta, and Baltimore. The team then looked at these care providers in three ways. One focus was on documents, to get an objective sense of how the entities organize and manage their work and how they compare to one another in structure and administration. The team also took a close look at each facility and its surrounding area because Atlas experts know that the physical environment can influence how patients interact with the community of HIV care. The heart of the study was a set of interviews with social workers and case managers across the nine organizations, focusing on getting patients
into care and keeping them in care that is both individualized and consistent. One of the themes that emerged from the study was that HIV is often not the only challenge for those who live with it. They also need support with housing, employment, transportation, and other aspects of life. Many HIV care providers, however, are funded or managed to focus only on virus-related issues, such as testing, diagnosis, or prescribing medication. Developing a wholeperson, individualized approach to living with HIV – with an emphasis on life, not just the virus – can produce better outcomes for everyone. n
ON THE FRONT LINES OF HIV INFECTION
Helping infectious disease experts see better ways to help those most at risk It is now understood that approximately half of all new HIV infections arise among men who have sex with men (MSM). Yet, there is a group with an even higher rate of infection: African American MSM. Reaching members of this group with information about prevention, testing, and treatment is important for the nation’s public health, particularly at a time when government agencies must focus limited resources in areas where they can make the biggest difference. Yet, the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) did not have a clear picture of the government’s total HIV effort with regard to black MSM. That changed in 2015, when the Office of HIV/ AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy (OHAIDP) contracted with Atlas Research. OHAIDP wanted answers to questions both strategic and practical. What are the current best practices for averting new infections or improving treatment and care for black MSM? Where can we find the most promising new ideas and the most effective collaborations? Why are these programs or partnerships working so effectively? How can they be disseminated more widely? With its extensive knowledge of health care agencies, programs, and policies, Atlas was able to efficiently identify and interview influential subject matter experts across nine different agencies. The Atlas team, which included Abt Associates, gathered relevant intelligence; assembled a quantitative and descriptive profile of the nation’s efforts to address HIV and viral hepatitis infections among the target population; and formulated recommendations for getting more impact out of every dollar spent. Some of the recommendations came directly out of research: agencies with relevant programs and resources need stronger alignment so that their efforts create synergy rather than scattershot results. Other recommendations came out of Atlas’ long experience in addressing health care
challenges at the community level. For example, it is most effective to focus HIV prevention and testing resources on community-based organizations that actually interact with young African American men. Federal HIV prevention websites and national testing events may look like outreach, but often they do not reach the people who need their messages most.
Atlas was able to efficiently identify and interview influential subject matter experts across nine different agencies.
Atlas also gave policy makers some insightful recommendations based on knowing how government works. For example, certain legislative and funding processes for HIV programs may actually prevent them from focusing on black MSM even though doing so would likely yield the strongest return on investment in terms of reducing overall HIV infection rates. The journey to successful containment of HIV is not likely to be a short one, but with its work for CDC Atlas Research is showing that when insight is matched with experience and expertise, there will always be new avenues for moving forward. n
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Opportunity U.S. taxpayers fund a vast range of social programs to address inequities and broaden participation in the nation’s wealth and success. It benefits all of us when programs work more effectively, so that they have the intended impact more often. Atlas Research shares a mission with program leaders throughout government: to help ensure that societal opportunities for underserved populations make a lasting difference for individuals and communities. 30 www.atlasresearch.us
LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD
Providing insights and information that make health care reform more fair and effective When the federal government established a national marketplace for health insurance in 2013, it faced a massive challenge: making sure tens of thousands of eligible insurance plans conformed to the new standards established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The agency created to implement ACA and address this challenge is known as the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO). To help it manage a wrenching – and highly visible – transition, CCIIO turned to Atlas Research. Starting in September of 2013, Atlas and partner Duty First Consulting began reviewing thousands of health plans to answer fundamental questions. Are the plans compliant with ACA? Do they present accurate information to consumers in plan documents and websites? Can consumers complete an application without undue hardship? 2015 Annual Report
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One of the biggest issues was rooting out health insurance issuer discrimination against consumers based on their medical histories. Limiting benefits for those with pre-existing medical conditions was long considered a best practice by insurers, but the ACA now prohibits such discrimination. Atlas health care experts understood where insurers were most likely to breach the non-discrimination standard, either willfully or unintentionally, and drafted the first Non-Discrimination Issuer Guidance to clarify the standards now protecting consumers under the domains of medical necessity exclusions, cost-sharing, visit limits, and utilization management. A prime example concerns the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), a complicated piece of legislation signed into law in 2008. MHPAEA was enacted to prevent health insurance issuers from imposing stricter limits on benefits for mental and behavioral health care compared to benefits for medical and surgical care.
Atlas Research Wins 2015 GovCon Award, Named Contractor of the Year Atlas Research was named Contractor of the Year (up to $25M annual revenue) by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and Professional Services Council in November 2015. The Greater Washington Government Contractor (GovCon) award honors leadership, innovation, and commitment to excellence in the Washington, DC region's government contracting sector.
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For a variety of reasons, many insurers struggled to understand the relevant requirements of MHPAEA and comply with them successfully. In 2015, Atlas completed a series of complex quantitative analyses in order to ensure proper functionality of the first CMS-issued review tool for state regulators and insurers to identify potentially discriminatory benefit design related to MHPAEA. In 2015, the Atlas team also focused on another major challenge: helping states prepare their new “benchmark” standards that go into effect in 2017. All health insurance plans offered within the marketplaces must either meet or exceed the benefits offered by their state benchmark plans, including any additional benefits mandated by state regulators. Because all states choose their own benchmark plans, Atlas created state-specific tools that state regulators used to verify and/or correct their benchmark benefits for CCIIO. CCIIO used these responses from the states to update its Essential Health Benefit Benchmark Plan website. Few private companies (other than insurers) have been as integrated in U.S. health care reform as Atlas Research. This experience has further strengthened the company’s commitment to helping underserved and uninsured populations gain greater access to opportunity. n
NO LONGER AN EXCEPTION
Ensuring equality for women in the VA medical system The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has been one of the nation’s largest health care systems for decades, even though for much of that time it primarily served men. Now the balance is shifting. Women accounted for 9.38 percent of all Veterans as of September 30, 2015, and more than 20 percent of new enrollees in the armed forces are female. These changes have brought far more women into the VHA system and changed the way VHA cares for them. Today the Women’s Health Services program within the VHA is thriving and determined to keep improving. In 2013, Atlas Research was awarded a contract to assess all of the more than 150 VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) in the U.S. to better understand the resources and quality associated with women’s health care today. The ultimate purpose of the project is to help the VHA operate like any other major health care system: serving men and women alike, without the need for special programs to redress imbalances.
sites are reported against the broader average for all VAMCs, which makes their relative strengths and weaknesses clear to everyone. The project’s final report gives VHA and VAMCs insights into important trends in women’s health care. America’s women warriors deserve high-quality health care that no longer knows any boundaries, and Atlas Research has contributed to improving their experience. n
Dramatic changes in America’s armed forces have changed the way VHA cares for its female Veterans.
The Atlas team, which includes partner Booz Allen Hamilton, helps accelerate that result beyond gathering rigorous and insightful data. Atlas experts in Veterans’ health and health care administration know how to turn what is officially an evaluation into a constructive dialogue. This helps VAMC administrators and care providers think about women’s health differently, be more open to adopting new practices, and find mentors in the VAMC network. When Atlas assessment teams presented their reports to the VAMCs, they were welcomed as collegial support for a shared mission. The results themselves are structured to show the path to better performance. The assessment tool used by the Atlas team focuses on five essential components of effective health care for women and 33 capabilities that are measured with regard to how highly they are developed. Results for individual
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FAMILY PLANNING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY Modernizing federally funded, affordable reproductive health programs
At a time when a woman’s right to choose is again under fire, it is critically important that the nation’s only federal program for responsible family planning fulfills its mission. The Office of Population Affairs (OPA) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) administers the Title X Family Planning program. For more than 40 years, the program has provided family planning and reproductive health services
CLIENT: Office of Population Services, Department of Health and Human Services PROJECT: Manage and modernize processes for assessing the quality of care delivery in 4,000 local sites across the U.S. that are funded by Title X to provide affordable reproductive health and family planning services IMPACT: Replacing manual processes with a web-based tool, generating more insightful intelligence on care delivery, and convening stakeholder meetings that accelerate the diffusion of best practices
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for low-income women and men. The program today includes a national network of more than 4,000 funded sites serving up to five million people annually. In the fourth quarter of 2014, Atlas Research won a contract to help OPA manage the Title X program more effectively by standardizing processes and disseminating best practices more widely. Atlas was selected for its combination of expertise in program management and extensive familiarity with Title X’s mission, priorities, and stakeholders. Throughout 2015, Atlas worked with OPA to standardize methods and tools for key processes such as conducting reviews of OPA-funded family planning programs. For example, the previous paper-based system for gathering and reporting data on program performance is now an electronic system that is integrated into OPA’s web portal and online database. Atlas also facilitated an expert
panel meeting which convened representatives from OPA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and experts from the field to plan for updating the evidence base that ensures that the Quality Family Planning Recommendations can serve as the standard of care for family planning services in any service setting. Before 2015 ended, OPA exercised the first of three options years under the contract, enabling Atlas to help roll out the revamped program review tool. Atlas is also on tap to upgrade and manage related back-end IT systems to give OPA more sophisticated intelligence on how care is being delivered. The number of expert meetings will double. Most importantly, a program that is vital to low-income Americans will continue to improve its ability to serve them in one of the most fundamental areas of their lives. n
“In our society, the people who need reproductive and family planning services are often those least able to afford them. So it’s essential that an agency responsible for closing that gap is well managed and continually improving its delivery of services. Atlas Research knows this territory well and shares the sense of mission. Every day is another opportunity to increase our impact.” — Jamie Hart, PhD, MPH, Executive Vice President, Atlas Research
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MILLION Americans who benefit annually from Title X Family Planning services provided by the Department of Health and Human Services
THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR HEALTH DISPARITIES Implementing a cross-sector, community-driven approach to achieving health equity
Income inequality has become a familiar topic in the U.S., but most people are unaware of an equally insidious trend behind it: disparities in health. Inequitable distributions of wealth, education, and environmental quality are depriving millions of Americans of access to quality health care. Those who struggle to get an education or a job, or who live in areas without clean air and water, are increasingly likely to struggle with health issues as well. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) leads the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA) through its Office of Minority Health. The NPA brings together government agencies and community-based organizations at all levels. The goal is a steady evolution toward health equity in the U.S. over time, driven by strategic changes in policies, practices, and programs at multiple levels of government.
One of the keys to success for such a longterm plan is educating the next generation. NPA envisions the nation’s youth learning about health disparities and getting firsthand experience working for health equity. The impact of education is doubly valuable regarding health disparities because educational attainment correlates highly with better access to health care throughout life. NPA’s youth strategy, known as “yNPA,” requires strong partnerships that reach into communities, schools, and youth centers. It also requires effective educational materials that make a complex subject accessible to inquiring young minds. In 2015, Atlas Research led a team that helped yNPA advance in both areas; Atlas experts developed a toolkit on health disparities and the social determinants of health for federal agencies, academic institutions, and community organizations to use with youth. The Atlas team, which included CommonHealth ACTION and the Democracy Collaborative, also helped increase awareness of NPA in the nation’s capital by creating health equity fact sheets that demonstrate how federally-funded programs support health equity. The third focus was developing strategies for increasing the alignment among programs that address health disparities, because that will increase their impact at the federal, tribal, regional, state, and local levels. n
New Directors at Atlas Research Gayathri Vissa joined Atlas Research as Director of Facility Transformation. She leads facility activation management services and works with federal clients to implement facilities transformation projects to achieve organizational efficiencies and effectiveness through enterprise integration of operations, infrastructure, and technology. An architect and senior health care planner, Ms. Vissa has over 20 years of experience in strategy, operations, and analytics for health and science facilities.
Julia Rollison, PhD, MPH joined Atlas Research as Director of Research and Evaluation. Dr. Rollison helps clients improve projects and better assess outcomes by providing research, evaluation, and project management services. She has over a decade of experience working with private firms, foundations, local agencies, and the federal government.
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Profile Clients come to Atlas Research for capability: the synergy of talent, knowledge, and experience required to achieve and transform. Our team blends academic knowledge with practical experience and fuses strategic thinking with technical expertise in program management, project leadership, research, and more. We consistently leverage learnings from previous projects to benefit current clients and strive to give them more than the results they asked for. All in service of our founding purpose: to have a strong, lasting, and positive impact on our society. 36 www.atlasresearch.us
LEADERSHIP PRINCIPALS
EXECUTIVE TEAM
JAMIE HART, PhD, MPH
BETH MAHAN, MHA, PMP
Executive Vice President
Executive Vice President
HILDA R. HEADY, MSW, ACSW
JASON ORMSBY, PhD, MBA, MHSA
Senior Vice President, Training, Technical Assistance, and Community Collaborations
Senior Vice President, Health Care Delivery Improvement and Program Evaluation
DAVID SEELKE, MHA, PMP
MARIE MINIER, MBA
Senior Vice President, Health Management Operations and Improvement
Senior Vice President, Operations and Human Capital
RYUNG SUH, MD, MPH, MBA, MPP Chief Executive Officer
MARK H. CHICHESTER, JD President
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EXECUTIVE TEAM (cont.)
JEFFERY A. BAETZ, PMP
DIRECTORS
KATE LYNCH MACHADO
CONSTANCE BENNETT, MA
DEBORAH MCKAY, RN, MS
Vice President, Business Development
Director, Process Improvement
Director, Veteran and Military Health Services
WENDY OPSAHL, PhD
KEITH PHILLIPS, MS
JULIA ROLLISON, PHD, MPH
Vice President, Communications
Director, Enterprise Transformation
Director, Research and Evaluation
ANDY PASTERNAK, MA Ed
KYUNGSUN SUH, PhD
MICHAEL A. SABO, MBA, FACHE
GAYATHRI VISSA
Vice President, Learning and Performance
Vice President, Clinical Research
Director, Health Transformation
Director, Facility Transformation
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
THEOLINDA (TEDDI) MACHT MIKULA, MA, MBA Vice President, Health Information Systems
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SERVICE AREAS ADVISORY BOARD ANNE K. ALTMAN Retired General Manager, IBM U.S. Federal and Government Industries
NICHOLAS DONOFRIO, MS Fellow Emeritus and retired Executive Vice President, Innovation and Technology, IBM
JOHN ‘JACK’ HUGHES
STEPHEN JOEL TRACHTENBERG, JD, MPA President Emeritus, The George Washington University (Chairman)
JOHN F. ‘SKIP’ WILLIAMS, JR., MD, EdD President, State University of New York, Downstate Health Sciences Center
PROGRAM SUPPORT AND ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION RESEARCH, STUDIES, AND EVALUATION
Founder and Principal, Phoenix Financial and Advisory Services
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SENIOR FELLOWS James Ahrens, MA, FACHE
Brent Gibson, MD, MPH
Kevin Sherin, MD, MPH, MBA
Kenneth Clark, JD, MHA
John Gilmore, MBA, PMP
Leiyu Shi, DrPH, MBA, MPA
James Farsetta, MBA
John Jacocks, MD, MTM&H (COL, ret)
Hugh Tilson, MD, DrPH, MPH
Sue Flanagan, PhD, MPH
Jesse Milan, Jr., JD
Siobhan Wescott, MD, MPH
Jason W. Forrester, MA
William Oetgen, MD, MBA
Theodora Wills, MHA
Sanford M. Garfunkel, FACHE
Paul Rader, MHA, FACHE
Zhiwei Zhang, PhD
Remembering Rev. Richard Curry (1943-2015) Rev. Richard Curry, SJ, was part of the Atlas family from 2009, when he became a Senior Fellow, until his death in 2015. He was a much-loved professor of Catholic studies and theater at Georgetown University and was director of the Academy for Veterans, a program that assists Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who were disabled in the line of duty.
LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE
STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS HEALTH CARE DELIVERY IMPROVEMENT 2015 Annual Report
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RECOGNITION Greater Washington Contractor of the Year Atlas Research was named a Contractor of the Year (category: revenue up to $25 million) for 2015 in the 13th Annual Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards™ conducted by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and Professional Services Council.
Washington SmartCEO Future50 Washington SmartCEO magazine named Atlas Research one of the “Future50” fastest- growing mid-sized companies in 2015 for the Washington, DC area.
CLIENTS U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs All VA Medical Centers All Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) Care Management and Social Work Services
VBA/DoD Program Office
Center for Innovation
Veterans Benefits Administration --Enterprise Program Management Office, Office of Compensation Services
Military Sexual Trauma National Support Team MyVA – Shared Services, Performance Improvement, and Veteran Experience National Center for PTSD
SmartCEO Washington GOVStar – Industry Star
National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans
Washington SmartCEO magazine named Atlas Research an Industry Star winner in the Washington GOVStar Awards for 2015, for overall industry impact.
Office of Acquisitions and Logistics
Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies
--Health Services Research & Development --Homeless Program Office --National Workers Compensation Program --Office of Communications --Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care --Women’s Health Services
Office of Human Resources and Administration --Office of Human Resources Management --VA Learning University
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Caregiver Friendly Award
Office of Policy and Planning
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services --Quality Measurement and Value-Based Incentive Group --Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation --Center for Consumer Information and Oversight
The Easter Seals Dixon Center Military Caregiver Webinar Series, a collaboration between Atlas Research and Easter Seals, was awarded Today’s Caregiver Magazine’s 2015 Caregiver Friendly® award.
Office of Rural Health
Health Resources and Services Administration
Office of Management
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
Office of Mental Health Services
Office of Adolescent Health
Office of the Under Secretary for Health
Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy
Inc. magazine listed Atlas Research at position 2,533 on its annual list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.
Office of Enterprise Integration Office of Interagency Care and Benefits Coordination Office of the Secretary
Government Contractor of the Year The Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum (SECAF) named Atlas Research a winner of its 2015 Government Contractor Awards (category: $12-25 million in revenue).
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Veterans Health Administration --Chief Business Office --Connected Health Office
Office of Minority Health Office of Population Affairs
CONTRACT VEHICLES Office of Rural Health Policy Office of Special Health Affairs Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
U.S. Department of Defense Air Force Medical Service Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense
U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau Veterans’ Employment and Training Service
Commercial/Non-Profit Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education Deloitte Center for Health Solutions District of Columbia, Department of Health Care Finance National Association of Community Health Centers
Government-wide
CDC – Achieving Public Health Impact through Policy: Analysis, Engagement, and Dissemination
GSA – Professional Services Schedule (formerly MOBIS)
CDC – Qualitative Inquiry Methods to Understand Issues in HIV Prevention, Care, and Treatment
GSA – Performance Management and Continuous Process Improvement (PM/CPI) NIH – Chief Information Officer-Solutions & Partners 3 (CIO SP3)
CMS – Research, Measurement, Assessment, Design & Analysis (RMADA)
Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation (T4NG)
FDA – Scientific Computing
VA Program Management Lean Six Sigma (PMLSS) Subject Matter Experts VA Agile Delivery of VA Imminent Strategic and Operational Requirements (ADVISOR) VA Learning University (VALU) Initiative 4B: Career & Employee Development VA National Center for PTSD Educational Products VA Services for Program Excellence & Corporate Transformation (SPECTRUM)
The Commonwealth Fund United Service Organizations
AHRQ – Evidence-Based Practice Center V
University of Michigan Health System
AHRQ – Knowledge Transfer
West Virginia State Legislature
CMS – Measure and Instrument Development and Support (MIDS)
Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of Health and Human Services
Precision for Medicine
CMS – Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC)
HHS – Accelerating Change & Transformation in Organizations & Networks (ACTION) III HHS – Program Support Center Task Order Contract (PSC) HRSA – Evaluation Studies Services II SAMHSA – IDIQ, Domains 1-5
Department of Defense Air Force Medical Services – Clinical Advisory/ Technical Services (CATS)
Department of Labor National Veterans Technical Assistance Center, Veterans Employment and Training Service
AHRQ – Planning Evaluation & Analysis Task Order Contract (PEATOC) 2015 Annual Report
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