Narrator: Women are the fastest growing group of U.S. military veterans.
Historically, the Department of Veterans Affairs has served a veteran population that was overwhelmingly
male,
but now the VA is working hard to create a system that can meet the unique health care
needs of our women veterans.
Patty Hayes: Our role is to change the culture of VA, to have the VA be more conscious of
women veterans and plan for that day,
not too far around the corner, when 1 out of 10, or 1 out of 6, people who come through
the front door are women.
Whitney Simmons Wormer: Women who have come to our Center, and my patients, tell me it's
just so amazing the changes,
not only in the last 10-15 years at the VA but even in the last 12 months.
Melissa McNeil: I got involved in women's health care in 1994.
There was no place in this institution for women to get annual gyne exams, no place for
them to get contraception,
no place for them to have their menopause managed.
Marjorie Paugh: When you came here and you were a woman,
you were kind of isolated and you were kept away from the other patients.
Kerri Childress: You really did feel kind of alienated when you walked in the door.
Suzanne Gairaud: Going there as a twenty-something blonde, it was very hard.
I actually stopped going to the VA for medical care for many years because it was so bad.
Narrator: The effort to transform women veterans' health services to a model of
comprehensive care involves hundreds of VA health professionals at all 153 VA medical
centers
and their community based outpatient clinics in the United States.
A Women Veteran Program Manager at each medical center works to improve the overall quality
of care provided
and connects women veterans outside the VA to the health care services they need and
deserve.
Desmarie Decuir: We have dedicated space and centers just for women veterans so that they
can make that easy transition
in a comfortable environment with women providers.
Ann Thrailkill: Well, comprehensive means every provider is prepared to offer the very
basics in women's health.
Melissa McNeil: Your diabetes, your hypertension, your asthma all managed...
Dorey Stabile: Eye care; I get allergy shots; I have neurology for migraines.
Ann Thrailkill: Screening breast exam, PAP smear, initiate oral contraceptives, menopausal
care...
Lisa Hardman: When the woman is seen, she’s able to be seen for the whole scope of the
issues that she has.
Whitney Simmons Wormer: Women are much more on the frontlines of service now than they
ever have been before,
and that brings with it a whole new set of emotions and difficulties.
We've really looked closely at the readjustment of how they came home
and how they're doing. Spiritually-we pull in the chaplain service if we need to...social
work
we have a lot of homelessness.
Lisa Hardman: We also have counselors who can talk to women about military sexual trauma.
Melissa McNeil: It's a huge issue and has many, many, health consequences and if not
dealt with,
the underlying medical problems are never resolved.
Ann Thrailkill: Services are also throughout the VA system for the issue of post-traumatic
stress.
JoAnn Martinez: I just remember it being really desperate and
I didn't really feel like I had any other choice but to access the mental health care.
Ann Antomattei: I just saw so much that, really, you know, was too much for me.
Payton Allen: Before the injury, I was a very active person, I was always running, doing
step aerobics.
When I realized I couldn’t do those things anymore, I really didn't see a point on why
I was around.
Someone told me to come here and they just welcomed me with open arms.
If it wasn't for them, I don't think that I'd even be stable.
I love the people here, I really do.
Narrator: There are different models for women's health care in different VA facilities in
the nation, but all have interested,
competent providers offering basic health care services for women.
Patty Hayes: They need to be able to come to clinic and have all their care met in one-stop
shop, and that’s the golden key
about Patient Centered Medical Home. When you come in, you'll see a provider who is
proficient and interested in your care,
whether you come in to a community based outpatient clinic
or you come to a facility where we might have a larger women's clinic.
Narrator: The VA priority for Patient Centered Medical Home has created an ideal complement
for providing
comprehensive care for women veterans. Patient Centered Medical Home provides health care
access
to women through a coordinated, team-based approach.
Britani Morrison: The providers are excellent, the staff is friendly. The women’s clinic
itself is very nice
it’s off to itself so you don’t feel overwhelmed with everyone being around you.
Sharon Stapler: They listen to me, if I have any questions, they answer them. They don’t
try to brush me aside, I’m thankful.
Narrator: The VA is also working to reach out to women veterans who may not be aware
of the health care services that are available to them.
Tajuana Brown: I didn't know anything about it, I thought it was just for retirees or
active duty.
Marissa Mendoza: It was a lot of what the other soldiers were saying.
They were saying it was horrible, don’t go there, they don’t really care...
Narrator: The first step for women leaving active duty
or women veterans who are not now using VA health care services
is to enroll at the nearest VA facility.
Patricia Matthews: It will provide you a sense of security that when and if you ever do need
the VA, you’re enrolled,
you don’t have to worry about anything, there’s no charge. It’s a benefit that
you’ve earned.
Lisa Palmieri: Take advantage of it because, you know, that’s what the VA is here for
- is for us.
Sabina Iqbal: We provide the best care and we would love for all our women veterans to
come.
Magda Lomas: This is so great that there is a place like this that is welcoming
and makes you feel really good about your VA system,
you know it’s fantastic, fantastic.
Deborah Mitchum: The reaction we get from women is so positive,
they really are surprised and pleased with the care they receive here.
June Moss: Come in to the VA, get your care, I promise you, by a longshot, it would be
way better than how you feel now.
Narrator: The VA Women Veterans Health Program is working hard for you,
our women warriors-because you served, and you deserve, the best care, anywhere.