ORCID

Gilly Cantor: 0000-0001-8890-9259

Zachary Bridgewater: 0000-0002-6830-0603

Kimberly A. Hochstedler Webb: 0000-0003-1145-3024

Kritee Gujral: 0000-0001-8153-4212

Todd H. Wagner: 0000-0001-7625-3504

Leslie R. M. Hausmann: 0000-0002-3909-6009

Document Type

Poster

Date

4-9-2026

Keywords

Health-related social needs, Social determinants of health, Collaboration, Referral network, Healthcare utilization, Healthcare costs, Veterans

Campus Community

D'Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families

Language

English

Funder(s)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; The Heinz Endowments

Funding ID

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - SDR 20-353 VA HSR&D; The Heinz Endowments - G0771

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the following awards from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Health Services Research and Development Service: Service Directed Project Award #20-353 and The Heinz Endowments (G0771) awarded to Leslie R. M. Hausmann. The contents of this work do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government. No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this work. The authors would like to extend their gratitude to members of the Study Advisory Panel, which included Veteran representatives from Community Veteran Engagement Boards, leaders of Veteran Service Organizations involved in AmericaServes, and leaders from Program Offices throughout the Department of Veteran's Affairs that are committed to addressing the health and social needs of Veterans. They shared invaluable insight that helped contextualize study findings and translate findings into practical recommendations for implementation. We would also like to thank Lauren Krishnamurti for assisting with interviews, Kelly Nestman for assisting with coordinating the Study Advisory Panel, Dawn Shimp for assisting with transcribing, and Jon Walker for data management.

Disciplines

Military and Veterans Studies | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Description/Abstract

AmericaServes is a network approach for coordinating care among health and human service organizations to address the needs of the military-connected population. The IVMF and researchers with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) partnered on two studies to explore the extent to which Veteran Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs) participate in AmericaServes and the benefits of collaboration for veterans.

First, we conducted a convergent parallel mixed-methods pilot study. We interviewed staff from 7 AmericaServes coordination centers and VAMCs in those locations. We then categorized VAMC participation into levels of intensity and complexity, and identified barriers and facilitators to participation. We found that participation of VAMCs in AmericaServes networks varied, with more operating at low (versus high) levels. Barriers were typically more prevalent on the VHA side, though clear communication and regular engagement facilitated better participation. We also matched AmericaServes clients to VHA patient data and assessed the resolution rates of requests for services, looking at those dually served by AmericaServes and VAMCs versus those only served by AmericaServes. Notably, when participation was stronger, requests were successfully addressed more often. Further, compared to the VHA patient population, AmericaServes clients tended to be younger, included more women and veterans from racial and ethnic minority groups, and lived in areas of higher socioeconomic deprivation.

Building on the pilot, we are assessing the association of navigation and care coordination services with VHA healthcare utilization (e.g., emergency department visits, inpatient admissions, and outpatient encounter days). We conducted a retrospective, longitudinal cohort study comparing those dually served by one AmericaServes network (PAServes) and VHA against a control group of VHA patients. Preliminary propensity-weighted comparisons suggest that PAServes clients have higher VHA utilization than the control group and that utilization decreases following exposure to PAServes. Further analysis is in progress, including an examination of effects on VHA healthcare costs.

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