National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships
Veteran Community Partnerships
Pittsburgh Veteran supports fellow Veterans in palliative care, thanks to local Veteran Community Partnership
It was by chance that Air Force Veteran Mr. Steven Hernandez, who works as a Veteran benefits coordinator, became involved with end-of-life and palliative care for his local Veteran community—a Veteran student at the University of Pittsburgh asked him about it.
“That instigated my curiosity,” said Mr. Hernandez, “I found there’s a whole community out here focused on doing palliative care and end-of-life care.”
Mr. Hernandez’s curiosity led him to the Pittsburgh Veteran Community Partnership (VCP) where he learned how it serves Veterans diagnosed with terminal illnesses. This VCP comprises community organizations and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center programs that help Veterans; it is one of 35 active VCPs in the country that are each part of the larger VCP initiative at VA. The initiative will expand to every VAMC in the country by 2024.
Mr. Hernandez learned more about how to support Veterans diagnosed with terminal illnesses by taking trainings offered through the Pittsburgh VCP. Once restrictions on in-person gatherings loosen, he will begin visiting Veterans. He’s familiar with helping others—he helps Veteran students who are facing food insecurity, depression, and homelessness.
Mr. Hernandez said he is grateful for the opportunity to learn from the Pittsburgh VCP about how to support Veterans.
“At the end of the day, I have an opportunity to help someone. Getting involved in the VCP work is an extension of that,” he explained.
Mr. Hernandez has spent time with Veterans in palliative care settings before. He said he has a strong connection to his spirituality and, in the past when he has spent time with Veterans, he’s prayed with them. In the future, he plans to continue to pray with the Veterans he visits.
“Even if the other person doesn’t have a practice in prayer, I’m willing to share mine. Let’s try to move closer toward peace in the final moments we have together,” he added. This sense of spirituality can be very important for some—spiritual support is a positive social determinant of health (SDOH) that can improve health and well-being. In recognition of this, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)’s Office of Community Engagement (OCE), which is one of the VHA offices that supports the VCP initiative, identified spiritual support as one SDOH that was a focus of its annual Community Partnership Challenge contest last year. Other VCPs throughout the country also help Veterans who receive hospice and palliative care.
Mr. Hernandez is excited to continue working with the staff of the Pittsburgh VCP, whom he called “heroes,” because they have helped him learn how to better assist Veterans.
“There are already heroes that are champions in this space. They are willing to bring you on board, to build a bigger tent in a better world for these folks in a palliative state,” he said.
To learn more about the VCP initiative, please visit: va.gov/healthpartnerships/vcp.asp.
To learn more about OCE’s work on VCPs and other partnerships throughout VA, please visit: va.gov/healthpartnerships.
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 March 01, 2021
