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Red Coat Ambassador Program

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This initiative responds to the Voice of the Veteran by providing a personal positive first impression and standardized VA experience of assistance with navigation, information, and a general culture of care, giving Veterans Service Organizations a significant role with volunteers and employees to personally assist customers at the facility’s main entrances. 

Origin:

August 2017, Veterans Experience Office

Adoptions:

108 successful, 24 in-progress

Woman in red coat assisting a patient
Contact Team

Overview

Problem

The Red Coat Ambassador program is currently used widely in VHA and can be easily adopted by other VA organizations. It responds to Veteran identified concerns regarding being treated with courtesy and respect and way-finding assistance in VA Health Care facilities.

Images

Red Coat Ambassador Program

Solution

In response, the VA PX Office developed the Red Coat Ambassador program to provide a personal and positive first impression when a Veteran, family member, caregiver, or survivor enters a VA facility. Red Coat Ambassadors offer a compassionate, standardized VA experience by immediately welcoming the Veteran and assisting them with navigation and helpful infor ... See more

Results

To date, 135 VA healthcare facilities have Red Coat Ambassador programs in place or are scheduled to re-implement the program in FY25. Red Coat Ambassadors reduce patient anxiety by promoting a welcoming environment and providing Veterans with navigation assistance inside the facilities. As a result of their efforts, VHA is better able to ensure a positive o ... See more

Metrics

  • As of the FY25 Q1 PX Environmental Scan Results, 85.6% of VA Healthcare Systems have implemented the Red Coat Ambassador Program.

Diffusion tracker

Does not include Clinical Resource Hubs (CRH)

Statuses

AK: Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System (Anchorage) AL: Birmingham VA Medical Center (Birmingham, Alabama) AZ: Carl T. Hayden Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Phoenix, Arizona) AZ: Tucson VA Medical Center (Tucson) CA: Fresno VA Medical Center (Fresno) CA: Jennifer Moreno Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (San Diego, California) CA: Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Loma Linda, California) CA: Martinez VA Medical Center (Martinez) CA: Sacramento VA Medical Center (Sacramento) CA: Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center (Long Beach) CO: Grand Junction VA Medical Center (Grand Junction, Colorado) CO: Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center (Aurora Rocky Mountain) CT: West Haven VA Medical Center (West Haven) DC: Washington VA Medical Center (Washington, District of Columbia) DE: Wilmington VA Medical Center (Wilmington, Delaware) FL: C.W. Bill Young Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Bay Pines) FL: James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital (Tampa, Florida) FL: Malcom Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Gainesville) FL: Orlando VA Medical Center (Orlando) FL: West Palm Beach VA Medical Center (West Palm Beach) GA: Augusta VA Medical Center-Uptown (Augusta Uptown) GA: Charlie Norwood Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Augusta Downtown) GA: Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center (Atlanta, Georgia) HI: Spark M. Matsunaga Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Honolulu) IA: Des Moines VA Medical Center (Des Moines, Iowa) ID: Boise VA Medical Center (Boise) IL: Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (North Chicago) IL: Danville VA Medical Center (Danville, Illinois) IL: Edward Hines Junior Hospital (Hines) IL: Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Chicago, Illinois) IL: Marion VA Medical Center (Marion, Illinois) IN: Fort Wayne VA Medical Center (Fort Wayne) IN: Marion VA Medical Center (Marion, Indiana) KS: Colmery-O'Neil Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Topeka) KS: Dwight D. Eisenhower Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Leavenworth) KS: Robert J. Dole Department of Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center (Wichita) KY: Franklin R. Sousley Campus (Lexington Leestown) KY: Troy Bowling Campus (Lexington Cooper) LA: New Orleans VA Medical Center (New Orleans) LA: Overton Brooks Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Shreveport) MA: Brockton VA Medical Center (Brockton) MA: Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Bedford) MA: Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center (Jamaica Plain) MA: West Roxbury VA Medical Center (West Roxbury) ME: Togus VA Medical Center (Togus) MI: John D. Dingell Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Detroit) MI: Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center (Ann Arbor) MI: Oscar G. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facility (Iron Mountain) MN: Minneapolis VA Medical Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota) MN: St. Cloud VA Medical Center (St. Cloud) MO: Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Columbia, Missouri) MO: John J. Pershing Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Poplar Bluff) MS: Biloxi VA Medical Center (Biloxi) MS: G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Jackson, Mississippi) NC: Durham VA Medical Center (Durham) ND: Fargo VA Medical Center (Fargo) NE: Omaha VA Medical Center (Omaha, Nebraska) NH: Manchester VA Medical Center (Manchester) NJ: East Orange VA Medical Center (East Orange) NJ: Lyons VA Medical Center (Lyons) NM: Raymond G. Murphy Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Albuquerque) NV: Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Reno) NV: North Las Vegas VA Medical Center (North Las Vegas) NY: Bath VA Medical Center (Bath) NY: Brooklyn VA Medical Center (Brooklyn) NY: Canandaigua VA Medical Center (Canandaigua) NY: James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Bronx) NY: Margaret Cochran Corbin VA Campus (Manhattan) NY: Northport VA Medical Center (Northport) NY: Samuel S. Stratton Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Albany, New York) NY: St. Albans VA Medical Center (St. Albans) OH: Cincinnati VA Medical Center (Cincinnati, Ohio) OH: Dayton VA Medical Center (Dayton) OH: Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Cleveland, Ohio) OR: Portland VA Medical Center (Portland, Oregon) OR: Roseburg VA Medical Center (Roseburg) OR: White City VA Medical Center (White City) PA: Butler VA Medical Center (Butler New Castle Road) PA: Coatesville VA Medical Center (Coatesville) PA: Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) PA: Erie VA Medical Center (Erie) PA: James E. Van Zandt Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Altoona) PA: Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center (Wilkes-Barre) RI: Providence VA Medical Center (Providence) SC: Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Charleston, South Carolina) SC: Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Columbia, South Carolina) TN: Alvin C. York Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Murfreesboro) TN: James H. Quillen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Mountain Home, Tennessee) TN: Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center (Memphis) TX: Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans' Hospital (San Antonio, Texas) TX: Dallas VA Medical Center (Dallas) TX: Michael E. DeBakey Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Houston) TX: Olin E. Teague Veterans' Center (Temple) UT: George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Salt Lake City) VA: Hampton VA Medical Center (Hampton) VA: Salem VA Medical Center (Salem, Virginia) VT: White River Junction VA Medical Center (White River Junction) WA: American Lake VA Medical Center (American Lake) WA: Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center (Walla Walla) WA: Mann-Grandstaff Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Spokane, Washington) WA: Seattle VA Medical Center (Seattle) WI: Clement J. Zablocki Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) WI: William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Madison) WV: Beckley VA Medical Center (Beckley) WV: Louis A. Johnson Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Clarksburg) WV: Martinsburg VA Medical Center (Martinsburg) WY: Cheyenne VA Medical Center (Cheyenne) WY: Sheridan VA Medical Center (Sheridan)

There are no unsuccessful adoptions for this innovation.

Multimedia

Videos

How RCA makes it easie for Veterans

Implementation

Timeline

  • Week #1
    Set up and Implementation Team
  • Week #2
    Develop a staffing plan
  • Week #3
    Leadership Endorsement Campaign
  • Week #4
    Launch the program
  • Week #5
    Monitor the Program

Core Resources

Resource type Resource description
PEOPLE
  • PX Champions
  • Volunteer Services

Links

  • The Red Coat Ambassador (RCA) program is a standardized Veteran “navigator” initiative within VHA that seeks to standardize assistance with medical center navigation, information, and a culture of care.​ Red Coat Ambassador Toolkit

Optional Resources

Links

Risks and mitigations

Risk Mitigation
Staffing - lack of volunteers Supplemeting with employees willing to rotate through
Staffing - lack of budget for staffed positions Supplement with employee volunteers
Too many touch points to staff Staff in high volume/traffic areas

Contact

Comment

Comments and replies are disabled for retired innovations and non-VA users.

VA User (Associate Director-CX Communications) Innovation owner posted

Toolkit moved from VA Pulse to SPO at this location: https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/vha-patient-experience/PX_Toolkits/Red_Coat_Ambassadors/default.aspx

Email

Email with questions about this innovation.

About

Origin story

This program addresses the second Moment that Matters most to Veterans in their outpatient journey: Navigation throughout the Facility.

Original team

Patient Experience Team

Steven Wintch

Patient Experience (PX) Coach