About us

Health care and services

We provide you with health care services at nine locations in Michigan and northwestern Ohio. Facilities include our LTC Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center in Ann Arbor and eight outpatient clinics in Adrian, Ann Arbor, Canton, Howell, Flint, Jackson, and Toledo and a Fisher House on the medical center campus. To learn more about the services each location offers, visit the VA Ann Arbor health services page.

VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System is a leading health care system and innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 10 (VISN 10), which includes medical centers and clinics in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Learn more about VISN 10

Research and development

LTC Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center has an active and growing research program. We conduct research to discover knowledge, develop VA scientists and health care leaders, and create innovations that advance health care for Veterans and the nation. We offer Veterans the opportunity to participate in and benefit from our work. Our goal is to use research to promote better health and health care for all.

The VA Ann Arbor Research Service supports the activities of more than 150 researchers working in Ann Arbor, Saginaw, and Battle Creek. Our facilities include 40,000 square feet of laboratory space and updated office space with a sample processing lab for clinical research staff.

Our research and development program increases our capacity to deliver advanced medical therapies and treatments to Veterans.

Major research areas include:

• Cardiology (the study of heart and blood vessel treatments and disorders)
• Pulmonary (lung) diseases and disorders
• Infectious disease
• Hematology (the study of blood)
• Oncology (the study of cancer)
• Nutrition
• Deployment exposures (the study of illnesses or injuries related to substances Veterans may have been exposed to during their military service)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Diabetes
• Mental illness
• Surgery
• Aging

Teaching and learning

LTC Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center is a teaching hospital that provides a full range of services, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research. We offer residencies and professional training in all major medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties. We also offer associated health training in nursing, psychology, audiology, social work, dietetics, and pharmacy. We train more than 1,400 health care professionals every year.

Our primary affiliation is with the University of Michigan schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, social work, public health, and engineering. The University of Toledo College of Medicine is also a strong partner of the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.   Overall, we have affiliations with 112 leading colleges, universities, and professional schools throughout the United States.

We’re proud of our partnerships with top institutions and organizations that support the educational mission of the VA.

Fast facts

• Since 1953, the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System has provided state-of-the-art, evidence-based, Veteran-centered healthcare services to Veterans living in southeastern Michigan and northwestern Ohio.
• The LTC Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center VA Medical Center has 106 acute care beds distributed among medicine, surgery, critical care, and psychiatry services. We also have a 40-bed community living center.
• Our medical center was renamed in honor of LTC Charles S. Kettles in 2020. Kettles was a Michigan native who received the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary courage in leading a convoy of helicopters to reinforce and rescue American troops during an intense firefight in the Vietnam War. 
• VAAAHS is rated five start in measures of patient experience by Medicare Hospital Compare, a patient-survey rating that provides information on how well hospitals provide care. 
• 2023 operating budget:  $916.2M
• We served 74,869 Veterans throughout Michigan and northeast Ohio. 
• We completed 694,256 outpatient visits and 4,706 hospital admissions in 2023.  We also completed 121,815 telehealth visits.  

Accreditations and achievements

The VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System has received accreditation from The Joint Commission for our hospital, long-term care, home care, and behavioral health programs. Our facilities and programs also have received accreditation from the:

• College of American Pathologists
• Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
• Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Programs
• Association for Assessment and Accreditation for Laboratory Animal Care
• Food and Drug Administration
• National Health Physics Program
• American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics, and Pedorthics
• Office of Research Oversight (ORO) Research Information Protection Program
• Commission for Accreditation of Pastoral Services
• Commission on Cancer

Annual reports

Federal holidays

Unless otherwise indicated, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System ambulatory clinics, surgery, administration and outpatient clinics are closed during federal holidays.