Women Veterans Care

The growing number of women veterans turning to the VA for health care and other earned benefits presents the department with many challenges and exceptional opportunities. Among those challenges is that the population of women veterans using the VA health care system has nearly doubled in the past decade, and of officials anticipate those numbers will continue to climb. Furthermore, women in today’s military have deployed to combat theaters in unprecedented numbers, putting their physical and mental health at greater risks from enemy action and other hazards.

“These and other related issues will be front and center at the 2011 National Training Summit on Women Veterans in Washington, D.C. in mid-July,” said Deputy National Legislative Director Joy J. Ilem. “The rising number of women veterans and the challenges they face have already spawned a culture change at the VA, but there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done,” she said. “That’s one of the main reasons DAV and other organizations are so keen to play a vital role in seeing to it that the VA continues to respond by closing gaps in services, improving quality and access and ensuring a safe, welcoming environment for women veterans at all VA facilities.”

The VA reports that some 144,000 women veterans have left the military since 2002, signaling the need for health care and other services for the younger generation. At the same time, however, there is a growing need to care for older women, the largest subgroup using VA health care.

Dr. Laura Herrera, acting Deputy Chief Of ficer with the VA’s Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards, told a gathering of women Army veterans that the issues they face have drawn heightened attention from Congress and the media. That in turn provides an opportunity to talk about how VA is transforming health care delivery for women veterans.

Among the major changes is that the VA health care system has 144 full-time Women Veteran Program Managers in place to coordinate and implement improved services to women veterans. That includes comprehensive primary care delivered by a single provider in the same location providing gender-specific care and access to mental health services.

“Much progress has been made in meeting the wide-ranging needs of women veterans,” said National Adjutant Arthur H. Wilson. “A large part of that has been the result of DAV’s strong advocacy and cooperation with the VA. And that is something we will continue to do going forward.”

Looking ahead, VA must change its culture to be more inclusive of women veterans. But, Herrera noted, such critical change can only be effective if it includes the military. There must be a new culture in place before women become veterans.

In the meantime, improved outreach to women veterans can encourage them to rethink the VA. The Center for Women Veterans, Vet Centers and other groups can work together toward improving access and services for women veterans so VA can deliver on its promise to give them the high-quality care they have earned.

There are areas in which VA already leads the private sector, such as patient-centered care for women. By focusing on continued improvement and transforming the delivery of care to women veterans, VA aims to raise the standard of care for all women.