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BY SARA McVICKER
During the opening session of the VA’s 2008 National
Summit on Women Veterans’ Issues, which was held June
20-22 in Washington, D.C., Under Secretary for Health Michael
J. Kussman promised to make all Veterans Health Administration
(VHA) Women Veterans Program Manager positions full-time,
a goal that exceeds VVA’s Resolution WV-4-03. Kussman
also promised that VHA would establish women veterans’ clinics
at all VA Medical Centers, although no timetable was given.
In addition, he has established a work group to ensure that
every woman veteran has access to a primary-care provider
who is competent in women’s health issues.
VVA participants at the conference, held once every four
years, included Marsha Four, who chairs the VVA Women Veterans
Committee; Sandy Miller; Connie Christensen; and Sara McVicker.
VA
Secretary James Peake discussed the need for VA “to
be more responsive.” While claiming significant progress
in recent years, he also acknowledged that more needs to
be done and announced the formation of a work group to focus
on women’s needs in prosthetics and rehabilitation.
The Women Veterans’ Health Program Office in March
2007 was elevated in organizational status to that of a Strategic
Health Care Group, which puts it on a par with other major
VHA offices. Patty Hayes, for many years the Women Veterans
Program Manager at the Pittsburgh VAMC and the VISN 4 Women
Veterans Coordinator, was appointed chief consultant.
Mark
Walcoff, Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits, said that because
some offices are very small, VBA is unable to make all women
veteran coordinator positions full-time. But he did commit
to ensuring that the individuals in these positions receive
training and have sufficient time to do their jobs. He also
discussed working with veterans’ service organizations
to provide training on women veterans’ issues.
Headstones
are now available with inscriptions for those with service
in the WAAC and WASP. Headstones for use in private cemeteries,
William Truek said, are not being requested by women veterans
in the same proportion as they are by male veterans. Recent
legislation allows a VA marker to be placed at a grave that
also has a private marker. The new law also authorizes the
use of a veterans’ medallion, which
can be attached to a private headstone. The medallion is
being designed and should be available next year.
The number
of women veterans using VA care has increased dramatically.
Nearly 60 percent are post-Vietnam War veterans, and 56 percent
of women using the VA are under 45. Although the need to
provide care with privacy, dignity, and sensitivity is not
a gender issue, women veterans have driven this message throughout
the VA. Dr. Hayes discussed factors that may affect the health
of newer women veterans, including erratic use of birth control
pills; difficulty in obtaining gynecological care; self-imposed
restrictions on fluid intake because of lack of private toilets;
and breast pain from ill-fitting armor designed for men.
In contrast to the private sector,
in which women receive more preventive care than men, the
opposite is true in the VA. Although VA performance on standard
preventive care items is better than that in the private
sector, women score lower than men. VHA is investigating
factors that may have an impact on this, including fragmented
care.
Dr. Donna Washington said
that the high prevalence of mental health issues among women
veterans, combined with chronic physical health conditions,
results in a complex patient population. Women are more likely
than men to use VA and non-VA providers. Despite that, 55
percent of VA users say that receiving general and gender-specific
health care from the same, consistent provider is very important.
The last
VA survey of women veterans was done in 1984. A new study
this year will identify current demographics, determine healthcare
needs and barriers to VA health care for women veterans,
and assess women veterans’ preferences regarding
care.
Sara McVicker has been a VVA member since 1982. She received
her B.S. in Nursing from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill and her Master of Nursing from Emory University.
She served in the Army Nurse Corps from 1968-71, including
a tour in Vietnam at the 71st Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku.
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