hi everyone and welcome to our video lesson today my name is instructor oliver and we will be reviewing the veteran healthcare administration otherwise known as the vha so let's dig in what is the veterans health administration the vha the veterans health administration is the largest integrated health care system in the united states the executive-in-charge office of the under secretary for health directs this health care system with an annual budget of approximately 68 billion dollars overseeing the delivery of care to more than 9 million enrolled veterans they employ more than 322 000 full-time health care professionals and support staff at a thousand two hundred and fifty five health care facilities including 170 va medical centers and 1074 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity including outpatient clinics bha is the nation's largest provider of graduate medical education and a major contributor to medical and scientific research more than 73 000 active volunteers 127 000 health profession trainees and approximately 15 000 affiliated medical factory um faculty are also an integral part of the vha community the vha's mission is quite simple to honor america's veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being services covered by the vha so certain things that would be covered under this type of coverage um would be preventative care services like health exams including gender specific exams health education including nutrition education immunization against infectious diseases like the flu shot counseling on genetic diseases so diseases that run in the family um they would also cover inpatient hospital services like surgeries um medical treatments kidney dialysis acute care so um short term treatment for severe illnesses or injuries after a surgery um specialized care so that would be care that would include organ transplants intensive care for mental and physical conditions and care for traumatic injuries they would also cover urgent and emergency care services at certain va health facilities so urgent care for injuries and illnesses that need attention right away but that aren't life-threatening um at urgent care locations that are part of their contracted network okay so these can include care at va approved walk-in retail health clinics for minor illnesses like a sore throat or an earache or at an urgent care facility for more pressing but not life-threatening illnesses or injuries that require treatment like splinting casting or wound care um they would also be covered for mental health services to treat certain issues like post traumatic stress disorder so ptsd military sexual trauma mst depression and substance use problems they would be covered to a certain degree for assisted living and home health care depending on the member's needs and income as well as space in the program prescriptions written or approved by a va doctor would also be covered they may cover services that that the members va primary care provider um would state that is needed to support a particular treatment so ancillary services so these would be like tests used to diagnose health conditions including blood work x-rays ultrasounds um therapy and rehabilitation services this would include physical therapy vision rehab and therapy for traumatic brain injury um additional services would include prosthetic items audiology so care for hearing loss and radiation oncology for cancer care they would also cover routine eye exams and in some cases they might offer coverage for eyeglasses or services for blind or low vision rehabilitation and in certain cases a member might be able to receive dental care as part of their va health benefits services not covered by the vha these services are not included in a member's va medical benefit package abortions and abortion counseling cosmetic surgery unless it's concluded that it's medically necessary so needed to prevent or treat a certain illness injury condition disease or symptom gender alteration so gender reassignment surgery not included um health club or a spa membership medicines and medical devices that aren't approved by the food and drug administration although there are two special cases the first one is if the member is in an approved clinical trial or if the member is seriously ill and their va health care provider prescribes a new unapproved medicine because there are no other comparable treatment options called a compassionate use or expanded access exemption and lastly inpatient hospital or outpatient care if the member is a patient or an inmate in a non-va government agency institution if the agency must must provide the care service by law that would not be covered while reviewing the vha there are six glossary terms i would like to share please review the following slide healthcare systems in many areas of the country several medical centers and clinics make work together to offer services to area veterans as a health care system in hcs in an effort to provide more efficient care by sharing services between medical centers health care systems allow vha to provide veterans easier access to advanced medical care closer to their homes so examples of health care systems include the va pittsburgh healthcare system which serves the pittsburgh area of pennsylvania and the va pugget sound health care system which services on the seattle and tacoma area of washington state the next term that i'd like to share with you guys is community-based outpatient clinic so these make access to healthcare easier um the vha utilizes community-based outpatient clinics otherwise referred to as cboc across the country these clinics provide the most common outpatient services including health and wellness visits without the hassle of visiting a larger medical center the vha continues to expand the network of cbocs to include more rural locations putting access to care closer to home another term um to review would be community living center so community living centers clcs are skilled nursing facilities often referred to as nursing homes veterans with chronic stable conditions such as dementia those requiring requiring rehabilitation or those who need comfort and care at the end of life are served within one of our community living centers um doma ciliary care or doma celeria are vha domicillaries they provide a variety of care to veterans who suffer from a wide range of medical psychiatric vocational educational or social problems and illnesses in a safe secure home-like environment the next term is vetcenter vet centers provide readjustment counseling and outreach services to all veterans who served in any combat zone services are also available for family members dealing with military related issues the vha operates community-based vet centers in all 50 states the district of columbia in guam puerto rico and the u.s virgin islands and the last term is a veterans integrated services network the united states is divided into 18 veterans integrated service networks or visms these are regional systems of care working together to better meet local healthcare needs and provides greater access to care this concludes our presentation on the vha i hope it was informational thank you again for joining and have a great day