RAND: VA Generally Offers Comparable Healthcare Quality to Non-VA Systems
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RAND: VA Generally Offers Comparable Healthcare Quality to Non-VA Systems


electronic-health-record-EHRA study by California-based nonprofit research organization RAND has found that the Department of Veterans Affairs‘ healthcare system generally delivered care that was “better or equal” in quality compared to non-VA systems.

RAND said Monday the study analyzed 10 years’ worth of research and medical literature on the VA health system and noted that there were also some exceptions in the quality dimensions used.

“In some areas, the quality of care provided by the VA exceeded what we found in other settings, although there were areas where the quality of VA care fell short,” said Courtney Gidengil, co-author of the study and a physician scientist at RAND.

The exceptions were in the areas of timeliness, equity, efficiency and patient-centeredness and were due to lack of information.

VA performed well in the dimensions related to safety and effectiveness, with 22 of 34 analyzed studies supporting the former and 20 of 24 supporting the latter finding.

RAND added the study updates and expands a similar research conducted in 2009 that examined the VA system in response to a request from Congress.

The others co-authors in the study, which was published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, are Claire O’Hanlon, Christina Huang, Elizabeth Sloss, Rebecca Anhang Price, Peter Hussey and Carrie Farmer.

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Report Outlines Priority Tech Areas for DHS’ Integrated Product Teams
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Report Outlines Priority Tech Areas for DHS’ Integrated Product Teams


research and development RDThe Department of Homeland Security has published a report that outlines 24 focus areas of  technology research-and-development initiatives by DHS’ integrated product teams in fiscal year 2016.

DHS said Monday it categorized the IPTs’ technical focus areas into aviation security, biological threats, border security, cybersecurity and counterterrorism.

“Threats to our homeland are evolving quickly, and DHS operators need technologies that will best support their efficient response,” said Reginald Brothers, DHS under secretary for science and technology.

“Now that we have established the IPTs, DHS has a central process to allow our stakeholders to provide feedback on the varying technologies they need on the ground.”

Each team is chaired by a component executive and comprises senior-level representatives across the department.

DHS formed the IPTs to help centralize the department’s R&D data-gathering process and identify strategies to address homeland security challenges as part of the Unity of Effort initiative.

The groups will follow an annual cycle to provide information on future R&D projects, acquisition and budgets for the department to carry out its missions.

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18F’s Cloud Services Platform Gains FedRAMP Ready Status
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18F’s Cloud Services Platform Gains FedRAMP Ready Status


cloudThe General Services Administration‘s 18F digital services team has received Federal Risk and Authorization Program Ready status for a cloud collaboration website the group built for government use.

18F said Monday it began to work toward the FedRAMP compliant evaluation process for cloud.gov and aims to obtain FedRAMP certification in November.

“Getting Provisional Authority to Operate from FedRAMP’s Joint Authorization Board will mean that all agencies will be able to confidently authorize use of cloud.gov without each agency needing to put cloud.gov through its own lengthy evaluation process,” 18F noted.

Cloud.gov is a platform-as-a-service designed to help federal government teams develop and release products and updates in a timely manner and runs on Amazon Web Services.

18F developed the website in an effort to help agencies comply with federal regulations when they deliver digital services.

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Col. Joseph Delaney to Lead DISA Pacific Field Command
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Col. Joseph Delaney to Lead DISA Pacific Field Command


Joseph DelaneyU.S. Marine Corps Col. Joseph Delaney, formerly assistant chief of staff for the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Japan, has been assigned as the new commander of the Defense Information Systems Agency‘s Pacific Field Command.

Delaney officially succeeded Col. Joseph Matos III during a change-of-command ceremony Thursday aboard USS Battleship Missouri in Hawaii, DISA said Monday.

Matos will serve as the new senior information technology officer for the Marine Corps Forces Pacific.

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Alan Lynn, DISA director and Joint Force Headquarters – Department of Defense Information Networks commander, was the presiding officer at the ceremony.

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DOE Funds Four New University-Led Energy Frontier Research Centers
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DOE Funds Four New University-Led Energy Frontier Research Centers


DOEThe Energy Department has granted $40 million in funds to establish four new Energy Frontier Research Centers to help advance scientific developments in support of the agency’s environmental management and nuclear cleanup mission.

DOE said Monday the centers will work to provide fundamental research that supports safe and efficient hazardous waste cleanup and assist the department’s Office of Environmental Management in the cleanup efforts.

The new EFRCs at Florida State University, Ohio State University, the University of South Carolina and DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will be funded by DOE’s Office of Science.

DOE noted that it selected the centers through a merit review process and that the awards for each will be between $2 million and $4 million annually for up to four fiscal years.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said the four new EFRCs will work to support the discovery of new science and research technologies to drive DOE’s environmental cleanup efforts, which is one of its core missions.

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Cybersecurity Vet Jeanette Hanna-Ruiz to Join NASA as CIO for IT Security
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Cybersecurity Vet Jeanette Hanna-Ruiz to Join NASA as CIO for IT Security


Jeanette Hanna-Ruiz
Jeanette Hanna-Ruiz

Jeanette Hanna-Ruiz, former director at Microsoft, will join NASA on Aug. 8 as chief information officer for information technology security.

Hanna-Ruiz was also selected by NASA CIO Renee Wynn to serve as senior agency information security official, the space agency said Monday.

Hanna-Ruiz served for nearly four years at Microsoft as director and manager of consulting services business.

The 20-year cybersecurity professional also worked at Computer Sciences Corp. as director of cyber forensics and information assurance and at the University of Maryland as a professor of the practice focused on cybersecurity.

She spent more than two years at the Department of Homeland Security as chief of staff for the national protection and programs directorate.

She also offered consulting support to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and helped the panel draft cybersecurity bills.

Hanna-Ruiz served as one of the authors of the Cyberspace Policy Review during her tenure as director of cybersecurity policy and member of the national security staff at the White House.

She also worked at the Transportation Department as chief of staff of the Federal Transit Administration.

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National Institute of Justice Seeks Feedback on Law Enforcement Gun Safety Tech Baseline Specifications
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National Institute of Justice Seeks Feedback on Law Enforcement Gun Safety Tech Baseline Specifications


military in trainingThe National Institute of Justice has requested for public feedback on a published draft document regarding generic baseline security specifications for law enforcement service pistols with additional safety technology.

A notice posted Friday on the Federal Register pointed to a joint report by the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and Defense Department that outlined a strategy to accelerate gun safety technology deployment.

The report asked help from law enforcement agencies to develop baseline specifications that indicate operational requirements for the manufacturers of firearms equipped with gun safety technology.

The Federal Register notice added that DOJ and DHS have assembled an NIJ-led working group of firearms technology experts to help identify operational needs and prepare the draft document on generic baseline specifications for law enforcement service pistols.

Comments to the document will be accepted through Sept. 13.

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Michael Gilday Succeeds Jan Tighe as US Fleet Cyber Command Chief
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Michael Gilday Succeeds Jan Tighe as US Fleet Cyber Command Chief


Michael Gilday
Michael Gilday

Vice Adm. Michael Gilday has formally taken command of the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet during a change-of-command ceremony Thursday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland.

Gilday, formerly director of operations (J3) for U.S. Cyber Command, succeeds Vice Adm. Jan Tighe, who has been named deputy chief of naval operations for information warfare and director of naval intelligence, the U.S. Navy said Friday.

Tighe officially assumed the roles of director of naval intelligence and deputy CNO for information warfare on Friday.

Adm. Bill Moran, vice chief of naval operations, was the presiding officer at the ceremony and presented a Distinguished Service Medal to Tighe.

Gilday has held various Navy and joint assignments, including command roles for the destroyer USS Higgins during the early segment of the Iraqi Freedom operation and for Carrier Strike Group 8 embarked on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

President Barack Obama nominated Gilday in June to lead the Fleet Cyber Command and for promotion to the vice admiral rank.

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Navy Asks DoD to Renew Hardship Duty Pay-Tempo Authority for Sailors, Marines
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Navy Asks DoD to Renew Hardship Duty Pay-Tempo Authority for Sailors, Marines


army stock photoU.S. Navy officials have asked the Defense Department to renew a policy that authorizes the service branch to provide Marines and sailors with additional salary for extended deployments, Navy Times reported Tuesday.

DoD approved for two years the Hardship Duty Pay – Tempo in September 2014 in order to provide service personnel with $16.50 in additional compensation per day once they exceed the deployment threshold of 220 days, Mark D. Faram writes.

“We’ve requested that HDP-T be continued and are working to get the pay authorized for sailors once the current authority expires later this year,” said Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen, spokesman for the chief of naval personnel.

Christensen told Navy Times he expects the authority to be renewed for another two years.

Navy officials said the service branch has issued approximately $15.3 million in deployment pay through HDP-T since September 2014, the report said.

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Army to Launch Pilot Program for Hybrid Cloud Adoption in September; Lt. Gen. Robert Ferrell Comments
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Army to Launch Pilot Program for Hybrid Cloud Adoption in September; Lt. Gen. Robert Ferrell Comments


cloudITThe U.S. Army plans to introduce a pilot program in September at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama in an effort to migrate the service branch’s data to a hybrid cloud environment, the Army reported Thursday.

David Vergun writes the military branch will start the three-year pilot program once the vendor selection process is completed.

The Army will implement a commercially-operated, on-premises cloud platform, consolidate 11 data centers at Redstone Arsenal and share insights with the Defense Department and other service branches as part of the pilot program, Vergun reports.

Lt. Gen. Robert Ferrell, Army chief information officer, said at an Association of the U.S. Army-hosted event Thursday that the pilot program is part of DoD’s cloud adoption efforts.

The Army aims to consolidate hundreds of data centers into four data facilities in continental U.S. and six overseas by fiscal year 2025 and has initiated efforts to implement the Joint Regional Security Stacks program in order to remove legacy information technology networks at military bases, he noted.

Ferrell also cited the service branch’s efforts to move its IT infrastructure to Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system, according to the report.

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