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Statement of Task for the Committee on Facilities Staffing Requirements for Veterans Health Administration

An ad hoc committee will be appointed to prepare a comprehensive resource planning and staffing methodology guidebook for VHA Facility Management (Engineering) Programs. The resource and staffing methodology must take into account all significant parameters and variables involved in the VHA Engineering Programs. The methodology should yield customized outputs based on site specific input data, to enable specification of the optimal budget and staffing levels for each site.

The study committee will review relevant available information on: (A) the knowledge, skills, and abilities of staff and the tasks they perform; (B) the present-day staffing strategies employed by the VHA; (C) any materials already produced by the VHA, including a recent consulting report on staffing strategies; (D) current overall and agency-relevant research concerning best staffing models that contribute most effectively to the broad system of effective operations, patient safety, and performance; and (E) any labor categorization or relevant labor union considerations. Additionally, the VHA will assist in the committee’s efforts by identifying stakeholder organizations and agencies and facilitating communication with them.

Based on its analysis of the available information, the study committee will develop the following:

• A description and evaluation of current VHA facilities staffing strategies, models and standards;
• Identification of factors that differentiate VHA Facilities Management (Engineering) from facilities engineering in the private sector;
• A comprehensive inventory of program requirements that fall under the purview of Healthcare Facilities Management (Engineering) Departments in VHA. For each program, the committee will identify the key variables that must be factored into the resourcing methodology. Examples of variables include the program scope, complexity, magnitude, and performance requirements.
• A methodology for estimating the resources required to fulfill each of the program requirements, factoring in key variables and unique aspects. This task may include guidance on:
  • objective staffing standards
  • measures for determining staffing based on workload, taking into account various constraints and clients served
  • consideration and evaluation of methods for determining workload
  • guidelines to assess and evaluate competencies for key positions.

• Recommendations for staffing models
• A budgeting and staffing methodology that is adjustable based on site specific program characteristics and inputs. The methodology will provide a tool that VHA Facilities can utilize across the system for establishing Healthcare Facilities Management (Engineering) Departments budgets and staffing levels.
• Recommendations for the steps needed to transition from the current staffing strategies and approaches used by the VHA to the plans for staffing recommended by the committee.