Every year on Veterans Day, we have the privilege to reflect upon the contributions and sacrifices of the men and women who have served honorably in our nation’s armed forces. Countless ceremonies and parades honoring our veterans will take place across Southern Arizona and the nation as we take a day off to honor those who have unselfishly answered the call to service in the armed forces of the United States.
I’m privileged to lead and work with health-care professionals who are dedicated to serving veterans every day. The more than 2,500 employees — many of whom are veterans themselves — work around the clock to provide a full spectrum of comprehensive patient and family care to our veterans.
The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS) partners with civic leaders and community members to ensure that veterans receive the care and services they need. For example, SAVAHCS partners with the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance to bring various art and music therapy programs to veterans at our Tucson VA campus.
We also have more than 1,300 volunteers who work at SAVAHCS doing everything from serving homeless veterans who come through our doors to helping a veteran find their way to their next appointment.
SAVAHCS is here to serve veterans from all conflicts and those who have served during peacetime. We offer veterans an array of services to improve their health and quality of life: quitting smoking, losing weight, transitioning back into civilian life, and taking on chronic illnesses like high blood pressure and diabetes.
SAVAHCS provides something else that no other non-VA health-care system can: a place where veterans can embrace their journey to recovery with others who share similar military experiences and the military culture that shapes them.
There is no wrong door to enter when veterans of Southern Arizona need our services and care. I’m proud to say that if a veteran is in crisis or has another need for care right away in mental health, he or she will receive immediate attention from a health-care professional, and any veteran new to mental health with a non-urgent need will receive an initial screening evaluation by the next calendar day.
We’ve worked very hard to achieve this, and we are also working on providing same-day services for all veterans seeking primary care. What this means is that if a veteran is need of care right away we will have that care addressed in the same day.
When a veteran contacts us, depending on the urgency, we may be able to address the veteran’s health-care need by providing a face-to-face visit, returning a phone call, arranging a tele-health appointment, secure messaging through MyHealtheVet, or scheduling a future appointment.
We want to address all veterans’ health-care needs when they walk into our doors that day. We are committed that everything that we do is veteran-centric.
I consider it an honor to serve the veterans of Southern Arizona and to show gratitude to those currently serving in our armed forces. I owe all veterans and service members a debt that I can never fully repay. I would like to thank all veterans for their service.
