Kate Wheelbarger Extends VA’s Reach with Telehealth

Today, working for Booz Allen, Kate Wheelbarger supports telehealth initiatives at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Connected Care (VA OCC), but she began her career in politics. “After college, I started working on political campaigns in Ohio, doing what was considered ‘new media’ at the time—Twitter, Facebook, email, and so on,” she says.

Having studied political science in school, Kate has long had an interest in the behind-the-scenes work that keeps the country running. With a career that also includes a brief stint on Capitol Hill and now doing work for a Cabinet-level agency, she has an uncommonly broad perspective on the mechanics of the U.S. government. “Interning for Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-13) for a semester helped me learn firsthand how Congress works. Now working with VA, I get to understand the other side of the coin—how legislation, budgets, and elections affect government agencies.”

Her husband’s status as a veteran of the U.S. Army has always given special meaning to Kate’s work for VA, but now, as the world grapples with a global pandemic, supporting telehealth feels more vital than ever. 

We recently spoke with Kate to learn more about her work and what drives her. 

What are you working on right now?

I’m Booz Allen’s program lead for VA’s Accessing Telehealth through Local Area Stations (ATLAS) initiative as well as the Telehealth Emergency Management (TEM) Program. The ATLAS program provides private, comfortable, conveniently located spaces for veterans facing healthcare access challenges—like long travel times or poor internet connectivity—to securely connect to their VA providers via telehealth. The TEM program uses telehealth to provide scalable clinical services to veterans and civilians in the event of a disaster.

What’s the impact of the work you and your team do?

We’re directly involved in helping VA’s telehealth programs provide crucial services to veterans. We help the ATLAS program use data to identify areas in the country that are most in need of access to VA healthcare—like communities with poor broadband, or where veterans have to drive over an hour to meet with their providers. For the TEM program we help speed the onboarding of VA providers so they’re ready to provide critical services in the event of an emergency.

How has the coronavirus pandemic changed the way you think about your work?

Before COVID-19, our team was full speed ahead preparing to open all our initial ATLAS sites. When it became clear that we were going to need to shift, we were able to use our expertise to support the TEM team—creating workflows and processes, assisting with provider onboarding, and ensuring broader access via telehealth in case local facilities faced a surge in patients.

How does your family’s military service experience add purpose to your work?

I was a military spouse when Booz Allen recruited me. It’s incredibly humbling to help VA improve healthcare access for our nation’s veterans. I have the opportunity to directly impact an agency that my own family has and will continue to benefit from, and work to enact real change.

What are some ways that telehealth is helping VA achieve its mission in the midst of the pandemic?

Veterans with symptoms of COVID-19 can be triaged at home without coming into a doctor’s office and enrolled in a text message-based app called ANNIE to ensure that they’re getting healthy. Patients with chronic conditions can be enrolled in a remote patient monitoring program, allowing them to record their vitals at home and transmit them to their care teams with the touch of a button, improving outcomes and reducing the need for frequent in-person visits. Veterans with PTSD can reach a VA provider effortlessly from home using VA Video Connect, ensuring they receive the timely, quality care that they need and deserve. As more and more specialties are utilizing telehealth during the pandemic and veterans are becoming more familiar with it, VA will be able to increase access to healthcare exponentially.