HealtHIE Nevada, the Silver State’s health information exchange, said this week that it is working with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense to make their patients’ clinical information available to service members statewide.

Since the connection went live on June 12, active-duty military members, veterans and their families can use the exchange to access labs, medications and discharge information – with HealtHIE also making electronic health record data available to VA and DoD providers.

DoD and VA are now two of more than 140 organizations across Nevada that work with HealtHIE to securely manage clinical data among physician practices, hospitals, diagnostic services and other care providers in Nevada – eliminating the need for patients to collect and transport paper records to their appointments.

THE LARGER TREND
HealtHIE Nevada points to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau that shows more than 226,000 veterans and 13,000 active-duty military personnel in Nevada – many of whom get care in both the VA system and from non-VA community providers.

This new connection will enable providers at the VA to access clinical data from other organizations that participate in HealtHIE Nevada, such as Renown Health, Dignity Health, Saint Mary’s Medical Center, University Medical Center and others. 

ON THE RECORD
“Whether on active duty, reacclimating to civilian life or years into their retirement journey, we’re honored to help our active-duty military and veterans by allowing doctors and other healthcare providers access to their medical records in a seamless and secure manner,” said Michael Gagnon, executive director of HealtHIE Nevada in a press statement.

“This new service is designed to enhance care coordination between VA, DoD and local healthcare facilities to ultimately improve patient care wherever they receive care in Nevada,” he added.

Mike Miliard is executive editor of Healthcare IT News
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.

The Chillicothe Mudcats dropped a MINK League contest at home Thursday night, losing to the Nevada Griffons by a final score of 11-3.

The Griffons, who are last place in the MINK League standing, were struggling coming into the game, and pick up just their second road win of the season, and their fourth win overall.

The Griffons got their good night started early by getting on the board first, scoring two runs, one of them unearned, off of Mudcats starter Josiah Golden. A double by Luke Robinson and a single by Bryce Humphrey helped the Griffons out to a 2-0 lead.

The Mudcats would get those runs back in the third inning though, as an RBI single from Peyton Becker tied the game at two, making it the twelfth straight game where he has registered a hit as a starter. Elian Guzman scored the other run in the inning on a delayed stolen base at home.

The Mudcats would take their first and only lead of the night in the fourth as Hunter Shoulta scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-2 in Chillicothe’s favor, after being hit by a pitch from Nevada’s starter, Bo Hays, at the beginning of the frame.

However, the Griffons would take full control of the game from there, as the Mudcats would not register a single hit in the rest of the game. Hays only allowed three hits in his six innings of work as a starter, and Nevada reliever Isac Elkins pitched three no-hit innings out of the bullpen for Nevada.

The Griffons offense did the damage midway through the game. They would score three runs on two hits in the fifth, two runs on three hits in the sixth, and four runs on two more hits in the seventh. The runs in those innings came off of a different Mudcats pitcher in each inning.

The Mudcats fall to 8-12 in overall play this season, but are 7-11 in the MINK League, and  fifth place in the league standings. That’s good enough for the Mudcats to be in a playoff position as they hit the halfway point of the season.

The Mudcats will take the day off Friday before facing off against the Warren County Cropdusters (7-13), who are just a half game behind them in the MINK League standings, on Saturday night. 7:05 is the scheduled time for first pitch, and all the live action from that game and every other Mudcats game this summer will be live on KCHI and kchi.com

At least four federal agencies likely will be involved in helping to mobilize voters in Nevada, based on President Joe Biden’s executive order on elections, which some critics call “Bidenbucks.”

Through a public records request, The Daily Signal obtained copies of letters from Nevada Secretary of State Francisco V. Aguilar to federal agencies regarding implementation of Biden’s executive order. 

Executive Order 14019, which Biden signed in March 2021, directs every federal agency to be active in boosting voter participation and to partner with nonprofit organizations in doing so. 

Previous records obtained by The Daily Signal as well as watchdog groups show these private actors partnering with agencies or communicating with Biden White House officials on the order.

These actors include left-leaning groups such as Demos and the American Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Southern Poverty Law Center, billionaire financier George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, and Fair Fight Action, founded by Stacey Abrams, who lost twice as the Democrat nominee for Georgia governor.

On Oct. 27, Francisco Aguilar, a Democrat elected as Nevada’s secretary of state in 2022, wrote top officials in the federal Labor, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs departments, as well as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a subagency in the Department of Homeland Security. 

Aguilar’s request was for each federal agency to act as a voter registration agency in Nevada, which, he writes, is pursuant to Biden’s executive order. 

“Your partnership in this designation will greatly benefit Nevada’s voters by distributing voter registration applications, assisting with qualified voter registrations, and ensuring completed applications are transmitted to County Clerks/Registrars,” his letter to each of the four agencies says.

Aguilar’s letter also cites Section 7 of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. The section requires that states offer voter registration opportunities at certain state and local offices, including public assistance and disability offices. 

That section of the U.S. statute known as the “motor voter law” also says that “states may designate as voter-registration agencies nongovernmental offices (such as private colleges) or federal government offices,” according to the Justice Department.

In his letter to Labor Secretary Julie Su, Aguilar specifically asks the department to designate its American Job Centers. Those centers were established in 2014 to offer training referrals, career counseling, job listings, and other employment-related services.

A spokesperson for Aguilar did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment before publication time.

The White House previously announced that the Labor Department would encourage states to designate the more than 2,400 American Job Centers as voter registration locations.

A subagency at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Community Living, announced it would create a “voting access hub” to connect with older adults and those with disabilities who want to vote. 

The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced it would provide materials and assistance in both registering and voting for tens of thousands of inpatients and residents, including inpatients at VA medical centers.

“We are exploring the opportunity to become an NVRA-designated agency in Nevada,” Veterans Affairs spokesperson Susan Carter told The Daily Signal, referring to the National Voter Registration Act. 

“Currently, VA only has three pilot NVRA designated agencies in the state of Michigan,” she said.

Spokespersons for the other three federal agencies involved did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on this report.

The House Administration Committee, which has oversight of elections, earlier subpoenaed 15 members of Biden’s Cabinet regarding the implementation of the president’s executive order. 

Republicans object to Biden’s order, noting it could prompt federal employees to violate the Hatch Act, a law that prohibits partisan political activity using government time or resources, as well as the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending public money on matters not authorized by Congress. 

Biden administration officials have argued that the president’s order is about promoting voter accessibility and ensuring that voting is easier for Americans.

The House Committee on Small Business has investigated the Small Business Administration’s efforts to register voters, holding a hearing June 5. In March, SBA announced a memorandum of understanding with the Michigan Department of State, the chief election agency for the battleground state, to facilitate voter registration efforts ahead of the election cycle this year.