National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships
OCE Partnership Impact
Reduce your stress in 2020 via OCE partnership offerings
With the holiday season behind us, the new year brings a transition back into the regular routine — and to the regular stress that comes with it. Veterans and providers can benefit from understanding the stress-management resources and support available to them through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Community Engagement (OCE) and the partnerships that the office facilitates. These resources help combat stress through a variety of approaches, ensuring that all Veterans can find tools that work for their unique lifestyle, goals, and preferences:
- The MOVE! Weight Management Program (click the link and scroll to page 5 on the PDF to read a previously published story) from the National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, connects Veterans with a local VHA program coordinator to set and work toward goals associated with a healthier lifestyle, which reduces risk of chronic disease, promotes self-care, and alleviates the stress surrounding health concerns. The six-month program supports lasting improvements for diet and exercise through goal-setting and problem-solving, and it offers a special MOVE! Coach mobile app option for ongoing support.
- The partnership between Y-USA and VHA puts Veterans in touch with resources near them that make it easy to become more physically active, improve mental health, and reintegrate into the local community. There are more than 2,500 YMCA locations around the country and Veterans may receive special memberships and other benefits tailored to their needs through partnerships between their local VA medical center and their local YMCA.
- Evidence-based art therapy programs offered through the partnership between VHA and Americans for the Arts, is shown to bring Veterans a sense of comfort and relaxation that is critical to stress management and that supports VHA’s holistic approach to health care. Programs introduce participants to various types of self-expression — such as dance, origami, storytelling, drumming, and painting — that equip them to take ownership of their own pursuit of personal wellness.
- Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLPs) at VHA facilities are part of an OCE-supported program that uses the services of volunteer attorneys to train VHA care teams in screening Veteran patients for unmet legal issues. These issues may be contributing to the Veteran’s overall stress and health concerns. MLPs provide cost-free support for noncriminal topics such as elder law, tenant-landlord disputes, and child custody.
OCE Acting Director Dr. Tracy Weistreich says, “OCE wants to enhance Veterans’ resilience in the local communities where they live, work, and play. Our goal is to support Veterans’ whole health, more so during especially stressful times, by offering them alternatives to unhealthy behaviors and decisions, such as those that involve self-harm or substance abuse. These partnerships are invaluable to the well-being of our nation’s Veterans, particularly as we all look ahead to the goals that Veterans, their families, and caregivers will set for the new year and decade.”
To learn more about OCE partnerships, visit https://www.va.gov/HEALTHPARTNERSHIPS/index.asp.
External Link Disclaimer: This page contains links that will take you outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked websites.
Posted January 06, 2020
