In the ongoing effort to improve health care awareness for service members and the extended military community, the Military Health System is marking October as Women’s Health Awareness month. At the Department of Veterans Affairs, an ongoing "She Was There" campaign is part of a culture shift aimed at ensuring service providers and all VA employees understand and are responsive to the health care needs of women.  

Dr. Patricia Hayes, the chief consultant for the Department of Veteran Affairs’ Women’s Health Service, notes that many women veterans do not realize they can access services at veterans’ hospitals. “Many women do not think they are eligible for VA care.” Hayes says that some women who have served believe that VA care is only available to men or to those who deployed. The “She Was There” campaign is working to correct that perception. Hayes explains the department is, “here as a lifelong provider of health care.”

Hayes says the overall goal of their campaign is to, “change the language, practice and culture of the VA to be more inclusive of women veterans.” The campaign is well on its way towards being totally implemented with 1,500 providers being trained in women’s health care. Hayes says about two-thirds of the community-based outpatient clinics also offer medical care for women.

For more information about health issues and resources for active duty and retired female service members and their families, visit our Women’s Health site.

View the "She Was There" public service announcement.