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…
19,000 Veterans join MVP at Pittsburgh VA
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…
Navy Physical Evaluation Board Discharge Claims Readjudication
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…
South Texas VA fights food insecurity with community support
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…
Unprecedented hiring paves the way to more strategic VA recruitment
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,”…
Improving Veteran bedside cardiac assessment
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…
The lifesaving impact of lung cancer screening
Lung Cancer affects almost 8,000 Veterans and nearly 240,000 Americans every year. Air Force Veteran Douglas Cross knows this better than most. A low-dose CT scan found his cancer at an early stage when lung cancer is most treatable. Cross, a machinist who joined the Air Force on the buddy system with his best friend,…
Air Force Veteran Bobby Grier, the Sugar Bowl’s first Black player
Bobby Grier’s team, the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, were closing out a very successful 1955 season ranked 11th in the country. They were invited to the 1956 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans against seventh-ranked Georgia Tech, a national juggernaut. Back in the era of the two-way player, Grier logged time at both fullback and…
Optometrist encourages Veterans to get glaucoma test
Arguably, no one knows the importance of the adage “the eyes are the windows to the soul” better than optometrists. Bay Pines VA optometrist Dr. Daniel Shea also believes that providing eye care is one of the most important ways to support the whole health of Veterans. Shea joined the Bay Pines VA team nine…
Army Veteran has volunteered at VA for 15 years
Bay Pines VA needs volunteers to fill many rolls across our health care system. No one understands the importance of this role better than Center for Development and Civic Engagement specialist Edgardo Solivan. Solivan started his VA journey in the Technical Career Field Trainee Program. The program is a two-year internship that places individuals in…
Birmingham VA unveils exciting culinary transformations
At Birmingham VA, Veterans are at the heart of everything we do. And in Nutrition and Food Service, customer service is not just a culinary ingredient: It’s the secret sauce. Studies show that good food is the foundation of health, and this approach doesn’t just cut medical costs, it improves and saves lives. In September…
On National Toothache Day, see how you can save smiles as a VA dentist
It’s National Toothache Day, and where would we be without the VA dentists, hygienists, dental assistants and lab techs who help put smiles back on the faces of Veterans every day? A dentist at VA does all the same work you might expect from a dentist anywhere: cavity fillings, crowns, dentures, implants, teeth extractions, root…