Category: VA

One winter Friday night, the atmosphere at the CrossFit Hydro in Omaha, Nebraska, was electric. Its “Friday Night Lights” is a weekly event where local CrossFitters participate in the worldwide CrossFit Open. It was supposed to be just another night of pushing limits and cheering, but for Peter Soby, it became the night he got…

Thanks to his new glasses from VA, Korean War Navy Veteran Walter Crites can have interesting conversations once again. About 25 years ago, Crites, a 91-year-old patient at Northern Arizona VA Health Care System (NAVAHCS), lost almost all his hearing after complications from multiple surgeries.  He received a cochlear implant, an electronic device that allows…

Eighty-one years have passed since Guam’s liberation from Imperial Japanese forces, and each year, the island commemorates this significant event with a vibrant Liberation Day parade along Marine Corps Drive. This celebration honors the brave Marine soldiers and the survivors of World War II. Guahan’s eighty-first Liberation Day is one of the largest events held…

Virtual reality (VR) is rapidly becoming integral to health care delivery across VA. Clinicians are harnessing these tools to connect Veterans with faster access to high-quality, personalized care. One use of VR is guided meditation, or imagery, a technique to help people manage their emotions, thoughts and behaviors. Veterans can work in-person with an instructor,…

This week’s Honoring Veterans Spotlight honors the service of Army Veteran Alton Roberts, who was Killed in Action in Vietnam. Alton Reese Roberts was born in September 1951 in Gastonia, North Carolina, as the son of Lee Mack Roberts and Bonnie Estelle Smallwood Roberts.   Roberts was a Specialist Five in the Army. In January 1970,…

When Army Veteran Curtis Ragan came to the emergency department (ED) at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center (CVAMC) feeling lightheaded, short of breath and generally unwell, he had no idea things would quickly take a scary turn. Thankfully, the newly established VA Emergency Ambulance Service (EAS) was there to save his life. Emergency treatment and…

The National Veterans Wheelchair Games brings together hundreds of Veterans for some friendly but fierce competition across more than 20 adaptive sports, including softball, basketball and this year’s highlight — axe throwing, a sport tried and true to the 2025 Games’ host site Minneapolis, Minnesota. Despite being the only Veteran to represent the state of…

Since deploying the Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) in March 2024, Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (Lovell FHCC) in North Chicago, Illinois, has increased the number of lung cancer screenings it provides to Veterans by 75 percent, thanks to the Comprehensive Adult Wellness Registry tool included in the new system. Lung cancer…

After graduating from high school in 1968, Jacky Lyn Branstetter joined the Navy during the height of the Vietnam War. Branstetter had no family when he passed away earlier this year in the Community Living Center of the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas. No Veteran forgotten “Fortunately, we have a system…

VA’s Nursing Home to Home (NHTH) program has reunited a Korean War Veteran and his daughter. At 92, Henry Ira White has lived a life of service, love and dedication. Drafted in 1952, he served in the 196th Field Artillery Division. He earned several honors, including the Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars,…

Many of us lead busy lives. Between grocery shopping, appointments, childcare, cooking and cleaning, time seems to slip away from us in the hustle and bustle of daily life. We’re always moving, thinking and planning. Throughout our waking hours, we’re spending our energy dealing with situations and people—often just trying to get through the day…

I would love to be a part of BBC Author: Regina Kirk