rural sites, where the women may live a long distance away from the medical center. In that way, it works better to provide the gynecology care in the community,” she says. “There are challenges with hiring gynecologists right now, and the VA is working on this,” Maffucci says, adding that research has indicated a correlation between having a gyne- cologist on site and a higher level of gender-specific care. Maffucci is more concerned with a potential problem associated with sending veterans into the commu- nity for care. “Generally,” she says, “the patient is going to get lost. That information may not come back to the VA.” In order to have a holistic health record at the VA, a system for reporting back and coordinating follow-up care would need to be im- plemented. “The challenge right now is, when you’re sending someone into the community to get that care, they may not get pulled back into that comprehensive care that they’re hoping to get at the VA.” That challenge applies to all veter- ans and is a reminder that as the VA is trying to build up services for women veterans, it also is being pressured on a number of fronts. According to the Interim Report of the Commission on Care, which was created under the Veterans Access, Choice, and Account- ability Act of 2014 (VACAA), “There is widespread concern that [the Veter- ans Health Administration] is not pro- viding the level of service, efficiency, and quality that veterans deserve and the American public expects.” The priority, Maffucci says, is get- ting patients the care they need now. “I think VACAA is really meant to be a short-term solution to a long-term problem,” she says. In three years, when the law is set to expire, she hopes the VA will have a longer-term plan of action ready to implement. Providing reproductive health care isn’t the only challenge. Women in the
45-to-65-year-old age range represent the largest proportion of women in the VA health care system. Cardio- vascular risk conditions, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high choles- terol are common concerns in that age group. “There’s really a wide range of conditions that we have to be pre- pared to address,” Haskell says. To effectively
“
address those and other issues, the VA created the Mini- Residency Pro- gram on Primary Health Care for Women Veterans. “One of the things we’ve wanted to do is to get our pro- viders educated and trained up to take care of women, since some pro- viders who’ve been working for [the] VA for a long time may not have seen many women,” Haskell says. More than 2,500 providers have received training focusing on basic primary care issues of importance to women. “We’ve also been working really
“Since the release of [the DAV’s]
[for] all generations, all veterans.
improve the entire VA health system
— MOAA President Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret)
”
What we learn in caring for women veterans helps
report — Women Veterans: The Long Journey Home — VA has made improvements,” says Ilem. “How- ever, more work needs to be done to ensure women veterans have con- sistent access to the full range of gender-sensitive benefits and ser- vices they need.” There was a time when a woman entering a VA medical center probably was there to pick up a pre-
hard on breast care,” Haskell says. More than 50 sites in the VA system now offer digital mammography. “When we don’t provide it on-site, we provide access to it in the community.”
Welcome change “I think it’s important to highlight that, while we know there are chal- lenges, there are also women who are getting really great care and are really happy with their care,” Maffucci says. “The challenge is to standardize that and make it not just some but all or the vast majority.” The VA is making progress in dealing with the systemic problems. In other areas, change may be hard- er to implement. “Certainly, the care is important, but there’s a huge cultural component that needs to be addressed,” Maffucci says.
scription for her husband or father. That time has passed, but unfortu- nately, many women veterans still face frustrations. “MOAA commends the VA for the significant progress it has made in advancing its strategic goal of de- livering the best health care services for women veterans,” says MOAA President Lt. Gen. Dana T. Atkins, USAF (Ret). “Much of this progress is a direct result of the commitment and aggressive outreach efforts of the VA’s Office of Women’s Health Services and the Center for Women Veterans. “Through ongoing collaboration
with Congress, veterans service or- ganizations like MOAA, and most important, listening to women veter- ans, we can expect progress to con- tinue,” Atkins says. “Though a small population within the larger health system, women veterans are changing the face of how the VA is delivering health care to all veterans. What we learn in caring for women veterans helps improve the entire VA health system so the VA can deliver the best health care services to all generations, all veterans.”
MO
— Christina Wood is a freelance writer based in Florida. Her last feature for Military Officer was “Educated Decision,” January 2016.
MARCH 2016 MILITARY OFFICER 101
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124