{"id":7697,"date":"2025-12-28T21:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7697"},"modified":"2025-12-28T21:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T21:30:00","slug":"veterans-health-make-a-thon-advances-innovative-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7697","title":{"rendered":"Veterans Health Make-a-thon advances innovative solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-12-28T21:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

Driving innovation, improving Veteran care<\/h2>\n

The 2025 Veterans Health Make-a-thon marks a pivotal phase in the Veterans Health Venture Studio <\/a>(VHVS) pipeline, a visionary program founded and led by Dr. Indra Sandal, chief of Innovation at James A. Haley Veterans\u2019 Hospital. Building on the momentum of the highly successful 2025 Veterans Health Hackathon, a dynamic group of innovation teams has been selected to advance promising solutions that tackle critical challenges in Veteran health care while strengthening collaboration across VA and partner organizations nationwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hackathon has been an incredible experience\u2014more than I expected, said Eugene Fisco,\u201d a VA employee hacker and Air Force Veteran. \u201cIt brings together diverse teams from within and outside VA to collaborate, share expertise and develop innovative ideas focused on delivering better care and truly meeting Veterans where they are. It\u2019s inspiring to see so many people thinking outside the box to improve patient outcomes and create meaningful change for Veterans like me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collaboration driving success<\/h2>\n
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Map depicting the locations of 2025 Veterans Health Make-a-thon participants, highlighting their VA affiliations and projects selected for showcase.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The Veterans Health Make-a-thon is powered by a robust coalition of collaborators, including VA leadership, VA\u2019s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning, The American Legion and Microsoft. At the heart of the Make-a-thon, Microsoft powers innovation through expert training and mentorship, fueling the innovators\u2019 journeys to transform Veteran care.<\/p>\n

Waco Hoover, Marine Veteran and chair of The American Legion, highlights the significance of the program, when he shared: \u201cThe VHVS is one of the more innovative and important programs I\u2019ve seen VA or any branch of government launch in some time. It taps into the advantage of piloting at scale within an organization and getting real-time feedback from clinicians, nurses and staff\u2014something startups rarely get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across the Make-a-thon, collaborators engage with Advisory Council members who guide the strategic direction of VHVS, while faculty and subject matter experts work closely with teams to refine and enhance their solutions. This collective expertise and support ensure innovations are not only brought to life but are also positioned for meaningful, scalable impact throughout VA\u2019s system.<\/p>\n

Veterans Health Venture Studio: Fueling innovation from ideation to impact<\/h2>\n

The Veterans Health Venture Studio is an engine designed to develop and sustain a pipeline of innovative projects that address VA\u2019s most pressing needs. The studio\u2019s three-fold mission focuses on People Development, Technology Development and Community Development, aiming to build innovation capacity, launch new products and foster public-private collaborations.<\/p>\n

After the successful completion of the 2024 Venture Studio program<\/a>, which saw seven final teams create working prototypes, the program kicked off the 2025 cohort with the Hackathon in August. Of the 51 concepts developed at the Hackathon, 17 teams were selected to join the Make-a-thon (December 2025 \u2013 March 2026), where they will advance their concepts into technical solutions ready to prototype. A subset will progress to the Accelerator, working with technical experts to create functional prototypes prepared for piloting within VA.<\/p>\n

The 2025 Veterans Health Make-a-thon is a critical milestone in this journey, combining innovation curriculum, a development bootcamp and a demo day to refine and advance selected projects.<\/p>\n

The 2025 Veterans Health Hackathon: A launchpad for innovation<\/h2>\n

The 2025 Hackathon convened over 350 participants\u2014including Veterans, clinicians, caregivers and technologists\u2014across 17 VISNs and more than 100 VA and non-VA organizations. Over four days, interdisciplinary teams collaborated intensively to develop AI-driven solutions aligned with VHA strategic priorities.<\/p>\n

Judged by a panel of 17 experts, nine teams were named winners for their exceptional concepts in three transformative tracks:<\/p>\n