Health services

We use complementary medicine along with standard medical treatments to help lessen the side effects of chemotherapy. We also provide alternative medicine instead of traditional medical treatments, like using herbs rather than prescription drugs to treat cancer. We offer treatments, like:

• Integrative nutrition, deep breathing, meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong, and art therapy  (offered virtually, Veterans can get access to these services by contacting the Center for Integrative Health and Healing at 612-467-3745)
• Battlefield acupuncture (available at Albert Lea VA Clinic, Hibbing VA Clinic, Lyle C. Pearson Community Based Outpatient Clinic, Maplewood VA Clinic, Minneapolis VA Medical Center, Northwest Metro VA Clinic, Rochester VA Clinic, Shakopee VA Clinic, St. James VA Clinic, Twin Ports VA Clinic)

In an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest VA or non-VA emergency room. We provide immediate treatment for serious, life-threatening health emergencies such as severe chest pain, seizures, heavy uncontrollable bleeding or moderate to severe burns.

The Minneapolis VA Medical Center emergency department is open 24/7 including holidays.

Emergency room, 911, or urgent care?

As you age, we offer a range of medical and support services to help you stay as healthy, active and independent as possible. We also offer help to family members and caregivers who may support you.

Learn more about our Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC)

Care we provide at Minneapolis VA health care

We provide evaluation and treatment for:

• Abnormal Pap test
• Abnormal uterine bleeding
• Infertility
• Pelvic pain
• Gynecologic cancers

Our internists are primary-care doctors who treat adults for a wide range of health issues. Our internists can:

• Perform checkups for annual, employee, and sports physical exams
• Order blood work and lab services
• Prescribe and manage your medicine
• Provide preventative care, like tips on diet, exercise, and healthy living
• Treat you when you’re sick or follow up with you after your hospital stay
• Refer you to specialists

Our pharmacy staff work with your health care team to provide medication management along with your overall care. Pharmacy also provides you and other Veterans with convenient, efficient service to make it easy to get your medications and medical supplies. 

• Refill prescriptions online and by phone or mail

Learn more about our pharmacy

Your VA primary care provider will work closely with you to plan for all the care you need to stay healthy and well throughout your life, including immunizations and vaccinations. They will also work with family members or caregivers who support you.

A strong network of family and internal medicine specialists and services can offer you the best possible care. Internal medicine doctors (internists) prevent, diagnose and treat adult diseases. Doctors who specialize in family medicine provide primary health care to the entire family. Your primary care team can coordinate the many services you receive such as:

• Labs and blood work
• Mental health care
• Women's health care
• Radiology
• Social services
• Telehealth

We offer women’s health services to meet your specific needs such as disease screenings, mental health treatment, recovery from military sexual trauma, maternity care and female-specific medical equipment.

Our women's health program offers complete health care for Women Veterans of all ages. Our services for Women Veterans include:

• Breast imaging
• Cervical cancer screening
• Mental health care and counseling
• Lifestyle wellness services
• Menopause treatment, including hormonal therapy
• Family planning, contraceptive care, and infertility evaluation

Learn more and connect with a Women Veterans Program Manager

We help Veterans on their recovery journey through outpatient and inpatient services. Our residential facility helps Veterans deal with substance abuse, homelessness, mental health, and unemployment through its 24-hour therapeutic and educational programs like:

• Rehabilitation
• Health maintenance
• Community support

Learn more about our VA treatment programs

Our medical center and clinics provide consultation, evaluation, and treatment for a range of issues that may impact your mental health or emotional well-being. Our confidential outpatient services include individual and group therapy for:

• Psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression
• Marriage and relationship problems
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Anxiety, addictive behaviors and personality disorders
• Aggressive or self-harming behaviors

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator

We offer care for military sexual trauma in our mental (behavioral) health clinics. Military sexual trauma refers to sexual assault, sexual harassment, or other threatening, offensive, or unwanted sexual advances, activities, or remarks that you experienced in the military. Our goal is to help you improve your quality of life with strategies to manage emotions and memories related to your military sexual trauma. Our services include:

• Counseling
• Psychiatric care
• Walk-in care

Learn more about military sexual trauma

If you’re struggling with a mental health problem—or just need to talk with someone—we can help. We offer treatment and support such as therapy, alternative treatments and medications when needed.

Our psychology teams offer consultation, evaluation, and treatment to help with a range of mental and behavioral health problems like:

• Depression (including sadness and grief), anxiety (including worry and nervousness)
• Interpersonal difficulties (couples and family difficulties, struggles building close relationships)
• Addictive behaviors and substance use issues
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and combat-related stress disorder challenges
• Emotional issues like anger management, mood swings, and relationship challenges
• Confused thinking, memory problems, and invasive thoughts or ideas
• Aggressive or self-harming behaviors
• Personal recovery during any life stage in the face of mental health challenges

We work with behavioral health providers and community organizations to help you and your family during times of crisis. We offer:

• Evidence based suicide prevention therapy
• Grief and loss specialists
• Lethal means safety (gun locks, medication disposal options, firearm safety)
• Post-vention services
• Suicide prevention case manager

Learn more and connect with a suicide prevention coordinator

We diagnose, evaluate and treat your asthma, allergies and non-HIV immune deficiencies. Our services include:

• Skin tests, blood tests and other exams to identify food, drug, insect, pollen, animal, dust and other allergies
• Prescribing and managing allergy medications that can ease your symptoms by reducing your immune system response to the things that cause your allergic reaction
• Performing asthma tests to measure lung function and see how much air moves in and out as you breathe
• Prescribing long-term and quick-relief asthma medications to reduce inflammation and open your swollen airways
• Specialized treatments for your immune deficiency disorders

If you’ve had a major limb removed, our specialists can create a health care plan to help you to live independently. Our support services include:

• Physical, occupational and recreational therapy
• Nutrition, wellness and mental health counseling
• Prosthetic support to help you choose your artificial limb and use it effectively
• Limb loss education and training to help you with daily living, like coping techniques, mobility tips, driving skills and scar care
• Medical and surgical consultations with other specialties
• PAVE care to help prevent or delay limb loss (available at Albert Lea, Chippewa Valley, Ely, Hayward, Hibbing, Lyle C. Pearson/Mankato, Maplewood, Northwest Metro, Rice Lake, Rochester, Shakopee, St. James, and Twin Ports VA Clinics, and the Minneapolis VA medical center)

Learn more about the VA amputation system of care

We offer a full range of audiology and speech pathology services, including:

• Selection, management and repair of hearing aids and assistive listening device assessments (available at Maplewood, Northwest Metro, Shakopee, and Twin Ports VA Clinics, and the Minneapolis VA medical center)
• Diagnosing and treating hearing loss, tinnitus (noise or ringing the ears) and dizziness (available at the Minneapolis VA medical center)
• Hearing and balance evaluations (available at the Minneapolis VA medical center)
• Evaluation, programming and management of cochlear implants and bone-anchored implants (available at the Minneapolis VA medical center)
• Evaluation and treatment for auditory processing disorder (available at the Minneapolis VA medical center)
• Services that help with speech, language, fluency, voice, cognitive communication, swallowing and stuttering (available at the Minneapolis VA medical center)

Learn more about VA hearing aids

Our low vision outpatient clinic can assess your needs and provide a rehab plan tailored to your personal goals. Our team of specialists and social workers will work with you to find the right aids and services. Our clinic services include:

• Comprehensive eye exams
• Visual skills assessments
• Guidance on how to develop visual motor and perceptual skills
• Training to help you manage daily activities with your vision loss

• COVID-19 vaccines for all Veterans

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines at VA

If you’re diagnosed with cancer, our team will work with you, your primary care doctor, and other health care providers to develop a specialized treatment plan. We offer personal, compassionate, and expert care, with services like:

• Surgical removal of tumors and other cancerous tissue
• Immunotherapy, which helps your body’s natural defenses destroy cancer cells
• Chemotherapy, which uses powerful drugs to fight cancer
• Radiotherapy, which uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors
• Palliative care, to reduce pain and control other symptoms and side effects, like nausea

Learn more about cancer care at Minneapolis VA

We perform noninvasive and minimally invasive tests and procedures that check, support, and improve your heart health. We’ll work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan and treat you with the most effective medications. Our services include:

• Evaluating you for coronary heart disease, heart-valve disease, and heart defects
• Determining how well blood flows through your heart vessels or find the cause of your heart failure
• Treating your heart vessels with nonsurgical or minimally invasive operations that open and support them through balloon angioplasty or stent placement
• Noninvasively monitoring you for changes in heart rhythm, using electrocardiograms (EKGs or ECGs), portable Holt monitors, or ultrasound
• Performing surgical treatments like pacemaker implants or cardiac catheterization (inserting a long, thin tube into an artery or vein)

Learn more about the cardiology care we provide

Doctors in our intensive care units (ICUs) treat patients with serious illnesses or injuries, such as life-threatening infections, severe burns, brain injuries and organ failure. Our critical care doctors (called intensivists) and nurses provide you with a full range of services, like:

• Monitor your heart rate, blood pressure and breathing with cardiac and oxygen telemetry
• Help your lungs work using a mechanical ventilator
• Provide nutrition through a feeding tube in your vein, nose or mouth
• Drain urine from your bladder using a catheter
• Give fluids and medicine through your vein using an IV pump
• Help prevent blood clots in your legs by using inflatable compression wraps and boots

If you’re eligible for VA dental care, we offer a full range of quality dental services to prevent and treat decay, gum disease and missing teeth, including:

• Routine exams, x-rays, oral cancer screening and teeth cleaning
• Restorative procedures, including fillings, crowns and bridges
• Comprehensive surgical care, including extractions (pulling teeth), dental implants and biopsies
• Routine and advanced prosthodontic care, including partial and complete dentures
• Routine and advanced periodontal care, including deep cleaning, root canals, gum treatments, and supporting bone care
• Dental appliances, including night-guards and sleep appliances

We use the latest digital dental technology, such as, 3D scanning, 3D x-rays, machine milling and 3D printing.

• Visits with Endocrinologists (Diabetes Specialists)
• Case Management with PharmDs, RNs, RDs, and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists
• American Diabetes Association Certified Diabetes Self-Management Education Program
• Shared Medical Appointments 
• Nutrition counseling and referrals for programs to support healthy eating and weight loss
• Diabetes technology training and support for Glucose meters, Continuous Glucose monitoring and Insulin Pump Therapy
• Gestational Diabetes Care

We diagnose and treat medical conditions in your esophagus, stomach, intestines, colon, and other parts of your digestive system. We can also test and treat other organs, like your liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. Our gastroenterology department provides services like:

• Colonoscopy, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which use an endoscope (a long, flexible tube with a small camera on the end) that lets us examine your digestive system
• Endoscopic ultrasound, which uses high-frequency sound waves to create images that help us diagnose and evaluate digestive and lung diseases
• Manometry study, which tests how well your esophagus is working
• Small bowel capsule endoscopy, which uses a tiny wireless camera that takes pictures as it moves through your digestive system
• 24-hour pH study, which measures how much stomach acid is flowing into your esophagus and helps us assess conditions like severe heartburn and acid reflux

Learn more about the GI care we provide

If you and your family are living with HIV or hepatitis, our dedicated professionals can provide compassionate care and counseling. Our confidential services include:

• Hepatitis C screening
• HIV testing and treatment
• Medication (PEP) taken after potential exposure to HIV
• Specialty care referrals
• One-to-one patient education

We offer a range of hematology and oncology services. You can arrange appointments and consultation through your primary care provider. Our hematology and oncology services include:

• Chemotherapy
• Blood and platelet transfusions
• Mediport flushes to clean and maintain the small medical appliance inserted under your skin, making it easier to inject drugs and draw blood
• Evaluation and treatment of blood disorders and cancer
• Dedicated outpatient infusion center, working closely with radiation oncology, interventional radiology, general surgery, diagnostics, palliative care, and social services
• Bone marrow biopsies, to see whether your bone tissue is healthy and making a normal number of blood cells

Our hospital medicine physicians are trained in internal medicine and treat adults for a wide range of acute illnesses. Our physicians:

• Guide you through your hospital stay, from admission through discharge
• Coordinate with the specialists involved in your care
• Prescribe and manage your medications with dedicated pharmacists, both while you are in the hospital and on discharge
• Work closely with the nurses caring for you while you are hospitalized
• Order necessary blood work and lab services
• Ensure your safe transition out of the hospital

Our laboratories provide a full range of clinical and diagnostic testing services. Our laboratory and pathology services include:

• Study of blood, urine and other bodily fluids for illness management
• Testing for infectious diseases
• Cytopathology (study of unusual cells) and surgical pathology (study of tissue removed during surgery)
• Autopsy services

VA’s MOVE!® Weight Management Program for Veterans can help you adopt a healthy lifestyle, meet your health goals, and manage your weight. MOVE! is about much more than weight. It is about increasing your ability and confidence to achieve your health goals. MOVE!’s basic ideas—helping you learn tools and approaches for healthy eating and physical activity—are easy to follow and based on the latest research.

Learn more about MOVE!

Our team actively manages all aspects of adult kidney disease, kidney and bladder stones, renal hypertension (high blood pressure caused by kidney disease) and mineral and bone disorders, and hemodialysis and home peritoneal dialysis.

Learn more about the kidney and renal care we provide

We provide inpatient and outpatient services for chronic diseases and disorders that affect your brain, spine and the nerves that connect them. We evaluate and treat many neurological illnesses and disorders such as:

• Neuropathy (nerve damage), myelopathy and other spinal cord injuries and radiculopathy (pinched nerves)
• Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis
• Stroke, dementia and degenerative diseases
• Other neurological conditions

Learn more about the neurologic care we provide

Our registered dietitians can help you maintain or improve your health with good nutrition tailored to your needs. Through group, individual, and telehealth sessions, we provide nutrition education and counseling in areas such as:

• Cardiovascular and heart health
• Chronic kidney disease
• Diabetes (including gestational diabetes)
• Eating disorders and digestive health
• Pregnancy and postpartum nutrition
• Weight management

Learn more and connect with a VA dietitian

Ophthalmologists, along with an eye care team of optometrists, nurses and specialized eye technicians, manage eye conditions that are the leading causes of vision loss in Veterans, including cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

Learn more about VA Ophthalmology Services

Our optometrists provide many eye-related services and treatments like:

• Vision services and eye exams
• Treatment for diseases and injuries of the retina, cornea, and other parts of your eye
• Low-vision services for conditions like macular degeneration that can’t be corrected by glasses, surgery or medication
• Special eye exams for diabetic patients
• Technology based eye care services (available at Rochester and Twin Ports VA Clinics)
• Eyeglass/Optical Shop at the Medical Center and Twin Ports VA Clinic

We offer a wide range of medical and surgical care for Veterans with diseases of the ear, nose and throat (ENT), also known as, otolaryngology.

Our otolaryngologists provide many ENT services and treatments like:

• State of the art care for Veterans with cancer of the head and neck, including mouth, larynx, tonsil, base of tongue and thyroid
• Otology care, including cochlear implants
• Facial plastic and reconstructive surgery
• Specialized vestibular testing

Contact the ENT clinic by calling 

Acute (short-term) or chronic (long-lasting) pain can make it hard to enjoy life, but effective pain management can help. Our experts work with you, your primary care physician, and other specialists to create a plan to help you manage your pain and improve your quality of life. Our services include:

• Creating treatment plans with board certified pain physicians
• Chiropractic care to relieve pain without medication
• Prescribing and supervising your use of medications
• Teaching you skills that include meditation, mindfulness training and relaxation to help you manage your pain
• Providing physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreation therapy and other compatible therapies
• Telemedicine and other virtual treatment options

Learn more about pain treatments offered at the Minneapolis VA Comprehensive Pain Center

Our palliative and hospice care services support you and your family as you cope with a life-threatening or terminal illness. Palliative care works to provide comfort, reduce suffering, and improve the quality of life for patients being treated for serious illnesses. Hospice care focuses on helping patients with terminal illnesses to manage the final stages of their lives. Our palliative and hospice care services include:

• Pain and symptom management
• Emotional, spiritual, and psychosocial support for you and your family
• Help with practical issues that include an advance directive (living will), health care power of attorney, funeral arrangements, and applying for VA death and burial benefits
• Education to help you and your family make informed health care decisions and know what to expect as your health declines
• Bereavement care to help surviving family members during the grieving process

Our physical medicine and rehabilitation doctors and therapists focus on whole-body health. They can help you manage your pain, increase your independence and improve your quality of life with services like:

• Personalized therapy for your rehabilitation
• Medication and stretching for short-term pain relief
• Strengthening exercises and movement therapy to increase fitness and prevent future pain
• Recreation therapy to create coping and social skills
• Occupational therapy to improve coordination and balance, and help you manage life skills and everyday activities
• Assessment and treatment of speech, language and swallowing disorders

Learn more about physical medicine and rehabilitation

Physical therapy, occupational therapy and kinesiotherapy can help restore movement and function if you have been disabled by injury or disease.

If you’re living with or recovering from an injury, illness or chronic condition that limits your mobility and independence, we can help. Our physical, occupational and movement therapists combine therapeutic exercise, counseling, education and training to help you improve your health and quality of life. Our services include:

• Pain relief and joint mobilization
• Movement and exercise therapies to improve your strength, endurance, balance and coordination
• Mobility assessment and training with wheelchairs, scooters and walking devices
• Life skills training and activities to help you maintain the highest level of independence and functionality
• Aquatic therapy to manage chronic pain
• Evaluation and treatment for a wide range of medical, orthopedic, psychosocial and neurological conditions

Our specialized rehabilitation program network serves severely injured Veterans and service members who have multiple combat- or civilian-related traumatic injuries. We offer:

• Physical, visual, and cognitive rehabilitation
• State-of-the-art prosthetics
• Psychological and psychosocial services
• Ongoing case management services

Learn more about the VA Polytrauma/TBI System of Care

We provide and help you use medical aids, hearing aids, state-of-the-art adaptive home equipment and other equipment to help you preserve and increase your mobility and independence.

Prosthetics and Sensory Aid Services (PSAS) provides prosthetics, orthotics, and durable medical equipment. Veterans enrolled in the VA health care system and referred by a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician can receive a full range of services and equipment like:

• Artificial limbs and surgical implants, including artificial joints and pacemakers
• Wheelchairs and other medical devices
• Aids for Veterans who are blind, have low vision, or are hearing impaired
• Adaptive equipment and modifications to make your vehicle or home more accessible
• Other devices and services to help increase your mobility, dignity, and independence
• Clothing allowance for Veterans with devices that damage their clothing

Contact PSAS at 

Our pulmonary medicine team treats diseases and conditions that affect the lungs and breathing, including asthma, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute respiratory distress syndrome and sleep apnea.

Our pulmonary medicine team treats diseases and conditions that affect the lungs and breathing, including asthma, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute respiratory distress syndrome and sleep apnea.

The radiation oncology service works with your health care team to target cancer safely and precisely using radiation therapy.

Radiation oncologists specialize in using high-energy radiation to kill or damage cancer cells and either destroy tumors or control their growth. Our doctors sometimes use radiation therapy in combination with surgery, chemotherapy or other cancer treatments. The radiation therapy you receive will depend on cancer type, tumor size and location, and your general health. Our services include:

• Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), which uses computers to deliver precise radiation doses that match the 3D shape of your tumor
• Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), which is an advanced form of IMRT that delivers radiotherapy with beams that continuously rotate around the patient
• Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), which uses precisely focused radiation to treat tumors in your lungs, spine, liver, lymph nodes or other soft tissues
• Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), which uses detailed images to help focus radiation on affected areas, improve outcomes and shorten treatment

Learn more about radiation oncology care at Minneapolis VA

We offer radiology and imaging services to diagnose and treat many medical conditions. Our services include:

• X-ray - available at the Minneapolis VA medical center, and the Albert Lea, Chippewa Falls, Hibbing, Lyle C. Pearson/Mankato, Maplewood, Northwest Metro, Rice Lake, Rochester, Shakopee, and St. James VA community clinics.
• Ultrasound - available at the Minneapolis VA medical center, and the Chippewa Falls, Maplewood, Rice Lake, and Rochester VA community clinics.
• Mammography (mammograms) - available at the Minneapolis VA medical center.
• Computer tomography (CT) - available at the Minneapolis VA medical center.
• Positron emission tomography (PET) - available at the Minneapolis VA medical center.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - available at the Minneapolis VA medical center.

We provide long-term care to help you and your family when you’re dealing with a disability, chronic (long-lasting) illness, terminal illness, or serious health issues related to aging. Our long-term health care services include:

• 24/7 nursing and medical care
• Physical therapy
• Help with daily tasks like bathing, dressing, making meals, and taking medicine
• Pain management and palliative care to relieve suffering and improve quality of life for people with serious illnesses
• Hospice care to provide comfort and compassionate care for people in the last phases of an incurable illness
• To learn more about the different types of extended care that VA provides, see our guide to long-term services and support.

Learn more about VA rehabilitation and extended care

Our team cares for and treats Veterans with joint and autoimmune conditions, such as arthritis, Crohn's disease, gout, and lupus.

The sleep medicine service diagnoses and treats your sleep problems, including trouble sleeping, breathing difficulties while sleeping, snoring, teeth grinding and jaw clenching.

At various points in our lives, all of us suffer from a lack of sleep. But, if you are spending enough time in bed and still wake up tired or feel very sleepy during the day, you may have a sleep disorder. We can help. Our sleep specialists can:

• Diagnose and treat sleep apnea and other sleep disorders
• Monitor your blood oxygen levels and heart rate
• Study your brain waves during sleep
• Evaluate possible causes for your excessive sleepiness
• Conduct sleep tests performed at home or in the lab
• Work with your doctors if you need surgery or dental appliances to help you get a good night’s sleep

Contact the sleep medicine clinic at

If you are trying to quit smoking or want to stop using tobacco, we can help you with support, resources and programs.

You can quit smoking or chewing tobacco. Our goal is to provide support and strategies to add to optional nicotine replacement therapy prescribed by your primary care doctor. These include:

• FDA-approved medications to manage nicotine withdrawal and the urge to smoke.
• Counseling in person or by phone
• Tobacco Cessation Quitline for individual counseling and strategies
• SmokefreeVET text message program for daily advice and interactive support
• Stay Quit Coach mobile app to help you quit smoking and stay smoke-free

Learn more about how to quit

If you have a spinal cord injury or disorder, our specialists provide coordinated care throughout your life. We work to help you achieve your goals for independence, productivity and quality of life.

Our SCI/D Center contains a full array of resources to provide comprehensive SCI/D care, management, treatment and rehabilitation.

Care we provide at Minneapolis VA health care

• Primary care and additional support for spinal-cord-injured patients

Learn more about spinal cord injury and disorder care at Minneapolis VA

Learn more about our ALS clinic

If you are having surgery, we make sure that your procedure and follow-up care are safe and high-quality.

We provide a wide range of surgical services, like:

• Anesthesia
• Specialty surgery, including cardiac (heart and major blood vessels), neurosurgery (brain, spinal column and nerves) and orthopedic (bones, muscles, ligaments, joints and tendons)
• General surgery, including gallbladder, bariatric (weight reduction), hernia repair and surgical correction of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Organ and tissue transplants
• Multidisciplinary treatment of breast disease, complex cancers and sarcomas, and liver conditions requiring surgical treatment
• Minor procedures, such as, removal of skin lesions

Care we provide at Minneapolis VA health care

We offer various urology procedures, such as incontinence treatment, including minimally invasive and robotic procedures for diseases affecting:

• The kidneys
• The bladder
• The urethra 
• Reproductive organs

If you’re a Veteran with a disability or a senior Veteran (age 55 or older), our adaptive sports program can help you improve your independence, well-being, and quality of life. We work with national, regional, and community-based organizations to provide opportunities through our support of:

• Inpatient and outpatient sports activities, and community partners specializing in adapted sports
• National Veterans Wheelchair Games, which serves Veterans with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, amputations, stroke, and other neurological disorders
• National Veterans Golden Age Games, which offers sports and health education to help senior Veterans live an active and healthy lifestyle
• National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, which uses skiing and snowboarding to help Veterans with profound disabilities overcome challenges
• The National Disabled Veterans Golf Clinic, which offers Veterans with life-changing disabilities golf instruction and a range of adaptive sports opportunities
• National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic, which promotes the value of rehabilitation through summer sports, like surfing, sailing, kayaking, and cycling

Learn more about adaptive sports

If you’re a caregiver for a Veteran, you can get support by contacting our Caregiver Support Program at . If the Veteran you care for was injured, or aggravated a serious injury, in the line of duty on or before May 7, 1975, or on or after September 11, 2001, you may be eligible for even more services, including a stipend to help with expenses, training and medical coverage if you aren’t already covered. For all caregivers, we can:

• Help you get caregiver assistance available through VA
• Provide progressive needs planning to help you manage degenerative conditions
• Match you with services and benefits
• Connect you with local resources and programs
• Listen to you when you struggle

Learn more and connect with our Caregiver Support Program

We help Veterans who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness or serious mental illness by promoting physical and mental health, assisting in securing and maintaining housing, and working with Veterans to achieve increased community integration. Contact one of our care coordinators to get help with:

• Immediate food and shelter needs, including both transitional and permanent housing
• Job training, life skills development, and education
• Justice system navigation and community reentry from jail
• Financial support to prevent homelessness
• Addiction and depression treatment
• Health and dental care

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator

We promote the health, welfare, and dignity of Veterans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) or a related identity. We focus on ensuring a safe, welcoming, and affirmative environment when providing you with sensitive and high-quality health care services like:

• Hormone therapy
• Substance use and alcohol treatment
• Testing and treatment for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI)
• Mental health care
• Psychosocial assessments for gender-confirming surgeries and hormone therapy

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator

If you’re a minority Veteran, we can help you get the services and benefits you need. Our Minority Veterans Program serves all Veterans who are Black American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American (including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Island Americans). We work to:

• Help the medical center address minority Veterans’ needs
• Meet minority Veterans’ needs in the local community
• Identify barriers and create a more accessible environment for minority Veterans
• Inform minority Veterans of VA benefits, services, and programs

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator

Our patient advocates work hard to make sure you receive the best possible care at our health care facilities. They can:

• Help you get answers or address concerns with your care team
• Advocate for patient and family rights
• Serve as advocates for minority Veterans, women Veterans, and Veterans with disabilities
• Offer specialized help to former prisoners of war and Veterans transitioning from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND)

Learn more and connect with a patient advocate

We offer a wide range of activities (arts and crafts, games, sports, exercise) that we can adapt to your needs.

Our therapies promote your independence and enhance your health and well-being if you’re a Veteran with an injury, chronic (long-lasting) illness, or disabling condition. After your primary health care provider gives you a referral, a recreation therapist will develop treatment goals with you.

Recreation and creative arts therapy provides services and activities that include:

• Animal-assisted therapy to help Veterans cope with and recover from some physical and mental health conditions
• Music, art, and crafts
• Community reintegration
• Exercise, sports, and games
• Gardening and leisure education

Learn more about recreation and creative arts therapy

If you were exposed to toxic chemicals or other hazards during your military service, we offer you a free exam. This exam helps you identify potential health risks and helps us monitor issues so we can better serve you.

This free, voluntary, and comprehensive health exam involves an exposure and medical history, laboratory tests, and a physical exam. We will discuss your results in a face-to-face meeting and follow up with a letter. The registry evaluation, which does not verify exposure, is separate from VA’s disability compensation process. You may be eligible to participate in one or more of these health registries if you served during these time periods:

• Ionizing radiation (1940s to 1960s)
• Agent Orange (1960s and 1970s)
• Airborne hazards and open burn pit (1990s to present)
• Gulf War (1990s to present)
• Depleted uranium (DU) (1990s to present)
• Toxic embedded fragments/shrapnel (2000s to present)

Learn more about VA Health Registry

If you’re returning from military service, we can help you readjust to civilian life and get started with VA health care. We can also help connect you with programs like mental health services and education and career counseling.

We can help you readjust to civilian life if you’re returning from military service, on active duty, or an activated National Guard or Reserve member. Talk to one of our care coordinators about how to best use your health care benefits.

• Polytrauma care (if you have multiple traumatic injuries)
• Counseling and rehabilitation
• Mental and behavioral health services
• Family benefits counseling and assistance
• Referral assistance

Learn more and connect with a coordinator

Social work is integral to health care. We can help you and your family manage stress-related problems due to injury or illness, and find VA community resources to meet your needs like:

• Home health services
• Legal services
• Transportation
• Community living
• Advanced care planning

Learn more about social work

My HealtheVet helps you gain a better understanding of your health and explore different ways to monitor and improve your health. When you use the My HealtheVet tools, you become a more active partner with your health care team.

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator

We use the latest in secure digital technology to set up remote visits with our health care providers. We offer video conferencing, home telehealth services, and store-and-forward telehealth that lets you securely send your health information to experts at VA facilities. We offer telehealth visits with providers in:

• Mental health
• Retinal care (eye)
• Bariatric surgery (visit remotely with your weight-loss surgery team before and after your operation)
• Dermatology
• Rehabilitation
• Primary care

Some primary specialty medicine and surgery specialty care services are also available via telehealth if deemed appropriate by your provider.

Learn more about telehealth

We help Veterans with physical and mental health challenges find and keep jobs. We help you find jobs through our long-term partnerships with business, industry, and government agencies. We offer 3 services:

• Our transitional work program matches Veteran’s skills with a specific job and provides supervision to help them gain work experience
• Our supported employment program provides long-term support for Veterans with serious mental illnesses or physical disabilities to help them compete for jobs in their communities
• Our vocational assistance program trains Veterans living at our residential facility to improve their job-search and career development skills

Learn more about VA vocational rehabilitation

Our whole health approach empowers and equips you to take charge of your health, well-being, and quality of life. Whole health goes beyond your illnesses, injuries, or disabilities, and focuses instead on your values, goals, and overall health. It includes self-care and complementary therapies along with conventional medical care. Our whole health program includes:

• Virtual coaching and group programs
  • Intro to Whole Health
  • Whole Health Coaching (1-to-1)
  • Taking Charge of My Life and Health (group coaching)
  • Mind Body Skills Group
• In-person coaching and group programs
  • Intro to Whole Health 
  • Taking Charge of My Life and Health (group coaching)

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator