Noteboom The Law Firm

VA Clinic Tailored to Female Veterans A Great Example for Future Clinics

March 26, 2010 - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is committed to serving all veterans, male and female. Veteran health care requirements, however, are always in flux and female veterans currently number 2million. The VA health care system administers care to approximately half a million of those female veterans and that number is on the rise.

The VA health care system is antiquated, and most health care facilities that are set up to treat male veterans must now make changes to accommodate the influx of female veterans. In 1999, the Cheyenne VA Medical Center opened a Women's Health Program with a goal of all-inclusive female health care and the staff makes a point to bring the extent of their services to the attention of the female veterans. The center has since grown and adapted and now offers:

• Primary care;
• Gynecological services;
• Preventative services; and
• Therapy focusing on PTSD and military-related sexual trauma.

The center maintains a separate entrance and lobby to ensure privacy. A waiting room full of male veterans can present an uncomfortable environment for a female veteran coming into the VA clinic for therapy related to military-related sexual assault.

The Cheyenne VA clinic offers all their female services under a single roof. The clinic connects their records of care with all other VA medical providers so any VA clinic or hospital the female veteran visits in the future will be in communication. As the number of female veterans grow, so too will the health care services offered to those female veterans.

VA clinics traditionally serve more male veterans than female if for no other reason than the disproportionate amount of men in the military. The new military includes more female veterans and therefore must also include new services for these female veterans.