Category: VA

Many people don’t think twice about scheduling an appointment with a doctor. Their biggest barriers may be insurance concerns or finding the time for a visit. But what if you avoid seeking care because of historic attitudes toward your sexual orientation or gender identity? This is the situation many Veterans who identify as lesbian, gay,…

Kidney disease is often labeled a “silent killer” due to its lack of physical symptoms in the early stages. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) develops when the kidneys get damaged and lose the ability to filter waste and fluids out of the blood. CKD is the ninth leading cause of death in the U.S. While anyone can get…

Born in December 1918 in Kittrell, North Carolina, Charity A. Earley was the oldest of four children. Raised in Columbia, South Carolina, by her father who was a minister and her mother, a former teacher, she excelled in school and became valedictorian at Booker T. Washington High School. After completing high school, she attended Wilberforce…

Women Veteran superstars are coming to a city near you to teach you all about the women- and Veteran-centric health care services available to you. The VA Women’s Health Reengagement Training (heaRT) Team offers one-time, women-only, in-person sessions, where you get the opportunity to connect with fellow women Veterans. By attending one of the trainings,…

In this episode of Borne the Battle, host Pablo Meza speaks with Rebecca Keough, who shares her journey from serving in the Army to becoming the Veterans Experience Office (VEO) Contact Center director. Here, she shares how MyVA411 helps Veterans navigating VA services. What is MyVA411? 1-800-MyVA411 (1-800-698-2411) is an easy-to-remember phone number linking Veterans…

VA medical centers across the country run a program that provides transportation to Veterans who are unable to get to their appointments. It’s called the Volunteer Transportation Network, and it’s supported by the national Veteran service organization Disabled American Veterans (DAV). The Center for Development & Civic Engagement (CDCE) offices and volunteer coordinators schedule transportation…

The demonstration begins with a pile of rocks, a pile of pebbles and a jar. The teacher pours the pebbles into the jar, which fills it up about halfway. She then tries to put the rocks in the jar, but they don’t all fit. The teacher takes everything out and starts again, but this time…

The Robley Rex VA Geriatrics and Extended Care team received a call from a Veteran reporting that he needed assistance. Expressing concerns about his safety, a Home Based Primary Care charge nurse took the call even though the Veteran was not enrolled in the program. They immediately assessed the Veteran was experiencing hunger, had not…

The G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery VA Medical Center hosted a spring hiring fair April 22 to aid in VA’s mission to hire 52,000 new employees during fiscal year 2023. Nearly 300 applicants participated in the event, which is dedicated to filling positions ranging from registered nurses for long-term care to medical technologists, medical support assistants and technologists. The…

One of VHA Innovators Network’s (iNET) signature programs is the Greenhouse Initiative, an opportunity for the health care innovation community to collaborate with iNET sites across the nation at the earliest stages of innovation. This allows them to receive input from Veterans and employees to impact solutions aimed to improve Veteran care. The Greenhouse Initiative…

It takes healthy and resilient VA employees to consistently deliver world class wellness care for Veteran patients. Chief wellbeing officer for the Orlando VA, Dr. Myriam Garzon, serves as a clinician advocate who provides organizational strategy to improve clinician well-being and assists in mitigating burnout. Garzon has worked for VA for over a decade and…

Army Veteran Charles Long served in the Army from 1943 to 1951, receiving a Bronze Star for Valor as a combat infantryman in World War II and earning a Purple Heart and a posthumous Medal of Honor in the Korean War. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, in December 1923, Long grew up in nearby Independence,…