Care for Veterans
Authors: Colline Wong, Christopher Steele MD MPH
Introduction
Veterans may be eligible for VA health care benefits if they served in the active military, naval, or air service. The Veterans Health Administration (VA) is an integrated health care system that provides medical care to 9 million Veterans across the U.S. The VA is a single-payer system with more than 1,200 hospitals, clinics and other facilities 1 that together address the diverse needs of the growing Veteran population. Additionally, there are health and mental health issues of importance in the Veteran population. The purpose of this module is to describe the Veterans Health Administration, discuss health disparities and inequities facing Veterans, and provide some resources to help mitigate these inequities.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the session, learners will be able to:
- List the demographics of Veterans in the United States.
- Describe what the VA system is and how it delivers health care to our Veterans.
- Describe health disparities and health issues of importance in the Veteran population.
- Compare the substance use and mental health of Veterans to that of the general population.
- Discuss homelessness in the Veteran population and the efforts to mitigate homelessness in your state.
- List resources to address inequities facing Veterans.
Required Assignments:
- Wong C. Introduction to Care for Veterans: https://youtu.be/IpmRO7FXwps
- Wong C. Addressing Health Care Needs for Veterans: https://youtu.be/L_c0VxiAym4
- Ibrahim, Said A. Egede, Leonard E. Fine, Michael J. New Evidence Reflecting VA’s Commitment to Achieve Health and Health Care Equity for All Veterans, Medical Care: September 2017 - Volume 55 - Issue - p S1-S3 https://journals.lww.com/lww-medicalcare/Fulltext/2017/09001/New_Evidence_Reflecting_VA_s_Commitment_to_Achieve.3.aspx
- Veterans Affairs Home: https://www.va.gov/
Work Cited
- VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs. Veterans Affairs. https://www.va.gov/. Published 2021. Accessed August 24, 2021.
Resources
- National Veterans Foundation: https://nvf.org/veteran-resources/
- Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes: https://saluteheroes.org/get-help/resources/
- U.S. Department of the Interior: https://www.doi.gov/veterans/vetresources
- 211 pages for Veterans Medical services for your State
- State Departments of Veteran Affairs
- VA Homeless Programs: https://www.va.gov/homeless/resources.asp
- VA Suicide Prevention: https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/