The Department of Veteran Affairs has been in the news lately for some unflattering revelations about wait times in the Phoenix office. The VA provides healthcare and social services for tens of thousands of veterans across the US, and for the first time in history they are serving five generations of vets. Veterans from each generation vary in age, health issue, communication style, and cultural approach toward seeking care from the VA.
According to Admiral Mike Mullen’s January talk at the Sacramento Speaker Series, as many as 50 percent of vets do not seek services and benefits available to them. We will talk with the Medical Center Director of the VA Northern California Healthcare System about the issues surrounding access for veterans, the generational differences between WWII and Vietnam and Afghanistan veterans, and what innovative approaches the VA can take to provide care that private healthcare systems don’t offer.