Recognizing Mental Health Awareness Month: Internalized Stigma

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) program office to improve health care and access for American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans. Aptive helped operationalize the VA’s new Office of Tribal Health, which equips VHA with senior executive leadership, guidance, strategic direction and policy to support health care, access, and Fourth Mission activities for American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans. Aptive completed an extensive functional review with over 45 stakeholders and subject matter experts that informed the Office of Tribal Health’s mission, vision, values and scope. We drafted position descriptions, managed recruiting efforts, onboarded employees and developed the Office of Tribal Health charter identifying purpose, strategy and stakeholders. The work also includes developing and implementing communications and change management plans.

Identifying what works and what doesn’t could help the federal government make the wisest investments in suicide prevention initiatives. For the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, we facilitate a panel review of best practices for suicide prevention programs. Our team of mental health and other professionals analyze more than nine national datasets, including clinical records, to develop the annual report to Congress that evaluates mental health, suicide prevention and substance use program outcomes, cost effectiveness and patient satisfaction and summarizes best practices in mental health care delivery, including a focus on virtual mental health services. We are also developing an annual report to Congress on VA’s compliance with opioid prescription practice guidelines.

We provide project management, reporting, implementation and evaluation of VA suicide prevention programs in support of PREVENTS and an ongoing Executive Order. In April 2021, PREVENTS transitioned to the Office under the direction of the VA National Director of Suicide Prevention.