#Middlebury #FemaleVeterans #HealthCare
VETERANS POST
By Freddy Groves
The VA health care signed up over 53,000 female veterans in the past year, the biggest enrollment increase ever for women. But that’s not the VA just chasing the numbers … the VA has the services and facilities to provide the care female veterans need.
Among other things, female veterans under age 40 who had toxin exposure have access to breast cancer screenings and mammograms. (Breast cancer is a presumptive under the PACT Act.) In addition, screenings can be scheduled for colon, lung, skin and cervical cancers.
General health screenings can include blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, as well as the whole array of standard immunizations such as flu, tetanus, Covid and more. Reproductive and maternity care services are also available, with maternity care being handled by a coordinator who offers support for care within and outside of VA health care.
Female veterans also have a special call center. Call 1-855-VA-WOMEN (1-855-829-6636) Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. There is also an online chat.
The call center can point you in the right direction for a wide variety of questions: enrolling in VA health care, what care options are available near you, eligibility, disability ratings, benefits including education and home loans, and more. Their help extends to reporting harassment at VA, complaints about medical staff at VA, infertility services and help for military sexual trauma.
If you don’t know where to start, begin with the call center. Or call your closest facility and ask for the Women Veterans Program (WVP) manager. Every VA medical facility has one.
For a long list of the services available for female veterans, go to www.womenshealth.va.gov/WOMENSHEALTH/overview.asp. If you’re a female veteran who hasn’t connected with the VA, either for health care or benefits, consider contacting the call center or the WVP manager at the closest facility and getting started.
© 2024 King Features Synd., Inc.
