Category: VA

The dawn of a new year can be a motivating time to think about your personal goals for the year ahead. That applies whether you take a more formal approach to making resolutions, goals and vision boards or simply striving to make better choices. Setting the right goals can feel overwhelming and may lead to…

In early January, Bay Pines VA’s Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (HPACT) brought the organization’s Mobile Medical Unit to the unhoused community for the first time. The HPACT is a multi-disciplinary team dedicated to addressing the unique needs and distinct challenges unhoused Veterans face accessing and engaging in health care. The team consists of a…

This month’s Center for Women Veterans Book Corner author is Navy Veteran Jalesa Heneke, who served as a Cryptologic Technician from 2014-2019. She wrote “When the Miracle Doesn’t Happen,” a book detailing the last year of her mother’s life and the grief journey that followed her mother’s passing. Heneke was born and raised in Memphis, TN,…

In a significant stride toward enhancing the quality of life for Veterans, West Texas VA’s grand opening of the new Recreation and Meeting Center was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that marked the latest addition to the Big Spring area. It was the unveiling of the second of five planned structures dedicated to providing state-of-the-art…

At VA, we work to meet all our Veterans where they need us. Since more than 4.7 million Veterans return from active military careers to reside in rural communities, we need talented, dedicated professionals in these areas. We’re looking for people who understand our mission and also want to embrace the slower pace and small-town feel.…

James “Jim” Brown was born in February 1936 in St. Simons Island, Georgia. He attended Syracuse University, where he participated in ROTC and achieved All-American honors in lacrosse and football before being drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1957. After graduation, he commissioned into the Army Reserve, serving four years simultaneously while playing in the…

VA in November officially reached 1 million Veteran enrollees in its Million Veteran Program (MVP). The historic number includes 19,000 Veterans who joined through Pittsburgh VA. MVP launched in 2011 as a genetic research program and is now the largest such program of its kind in the world. We have participated in MVP from the…

All day long our necks support the weight of our heads. The neck has a lot of flexibility, allowing us to look up or down and to turn side to side. When neck pain occurs, it may interfere with those movements and keep us from doing what we want to do. Those who have neck…

A VA Hunger Awareness Resource event collaborated to fight Veteran food insecurity in South Texas. This successful event enabled South Texas VA to screen 175 Veterans for food insecurity, hand out 335 bags of produce and non-perishables, and help Veterans complete Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program applications. Fifteen community partners participated, including 2-1-1 Texas, Good Samaritan Veteran…

On Sept. 27, 2022, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia determined Veterans of the United States Navy and Marine Corps whose final Physical Evaluation Board (PEB) occurred between Sept. 12, 2016, and June 11, 2018, and who did not receive a medical retirement through the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES), may…

Leading educational researchers from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and other institutions, and physicians from VA Bedford Healthcare System, recently developed a curriculum to improve bedside cardiac assessment (BCA).  BCA activities include gathering a patient’s medical history, performing a physical examination and determining the need for diagnostic testing. The team developed the…

After an unprecedented hiring surge last year at VA, we are better positioned to meet the needs of the Veterans who rely on us for care throughout the country. However, that doesn’t mean we’re resting on our laurels. “We are now primarily focused on increasing access to VA care that meets Veterans where they are,”…