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Harvey WaldenCommunity Member
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HAHarvey Walden
22 hours agoVA Prepares for 2026 Hurricane Season with Expanded Veteran Support
Picture a Veteran you know. They’ve ridden out storms before, but maybe they’re a retiree living alone in a Gulf Coast apartment, or a disabled Veteran in the Carolinas depending on powered medical equipment. Trained for hard situations and accustomed to pushing through, they believe they are ready. Then a Category 2 storm knocks out the power for nine days. By day four, a critical medication runs out. The pharmacy is closed. Roads are flooded. The phone battery is dead. It happens every season… not to a headline, but to real people in real homes across the Gulf Coast, the Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic. The gap between feeling prepared and being prepared is where emergencies become crises. “It only takes one,” said Assistant Secretary Reginald Neal, leading VA’s Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness (OSP). “One storm. One week without power. One heat wave. That’s all it takes.” The mission doesn’t stop When disaster strikes, VA doesn’t stand down—it expands. VA has a “Fourth Mission,” authorizing support, not just for enrolled Veterans, but entire communities when local medical systems buckle under a storm’s weight. OSP and the Veterans Health Administration’s Office of Emergency Management work year-round to track threats, protect VA facilities and pre-position staff and supplies where they’re most needed. In practice, that means VA can perform outreach, surge mobile medical units into storm-damaged communities, transfer patients from threatened hospitals before landfall, and keep Veterans connected to care through telehealth when roads are impassable and clinics are dark. VA coordinates directly with FEMA and the Department of Health and Human Services, state emergency managers and local agencies, so that when a storm makes landfall, the response is already moving. But even the most capable emergency system has limits. It cannot help a Veteran who cannot be reached. Answer the call When major storms or incidents occur, VA may contact Veterans in affected areas by phone, text or email with real-time information about clinic closures, alternate care sites, pharmacy refills and evacuation guidance. Veterans are urged to do two things: prepare and respond. If you are a Veteran with high-risk medical conditions and a weather threat is predicted, keep your phone charged and save your VA medical center’s number in your contacts. If a call or text comes from VA during a weather threat, open it. Read it. The message may ask if you need assistance, tell you where to refill a critical prescription, how to reach your care team by telehealth, or where the nearest alternate clinic is located. Missing that message could mean missing care. VA also asks Veterans to make sure their contact information—phone number, address and email—is current in the system before storm season intensifies. It takes minutes to update, and it ensures VA can reach you when it matters most. The heat is a weapon too Hurricanes command attention. Heat kills quietly. For Veterans managing heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, mental illnesses or chronic pain, and particularly for those taking medications that affect hydration or circulation, a heat wave can become a medical emergency faster than a storm surge. When a hurricane knocks out power and air conditioning disappears for a week, extreme heat is not a secondary concern. It becomes the primary threat. “Heat conditions aren’t always portrayed as a disaster event, like hurricanes, but they are just as deadly, especially for Veterans with chronic health conditions,” said Dr. Aarthi Chary, M.D., leading Biodefense, Readiness and Response in VHA’s Public Health National Program Office. Chary co-chairs the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS), an integrated information system supporting heat resilience and providing heat risk-related information and resources on Heat.gov. “Talk with your VA provider now about how heat affects your specific conditions and medications,” Chary said. “Know where your nearest cooling center is. Have water stored. Have a plan to check on the Veterans you know who live alone.” What to do this week Veterans and their families don’t need to overhaul their lives to be prepared. Just consider taking these focused steps now: Check your medications. Keep at least a 2-week supply on hand and carry a written list of prescriptions. Veterans can request emergency prescription refills through MyHealtheVet or VA Health Connect. Know your power vulnerabilities. If you use oxygen, a CPAP, dialysis equipment or a power wheelchair, or other electricity-dependent medical devices, talk to your VA provider today about backup options. The same applies if you need IVs, feeding pumps, nebulizers and refrigerators for medications that must be stored at a certain temperature. Build a simple kit. Water, food, flashlights, batteries, documents, pet supplies—and a plan for where you will go if you must leave. Update your VA contact info. Call your VA medical center or log in to VA.gov to confirm your phone number and address are current. Have a family plan. Know your evacuation route, meeting point, and who will check on you and practice it before the storm. Be sure to sign up for and pay close attention to local alerts and emergency information with special instructions from officials. One Storm Changes Everything Veterans know something that most people only learn in a crisis: conditions can deteriorate fast, and the window to act closes quickly. The same discipline that carried you through difficult situations—planning ahead, staying connected, knowing your resources—is exactly what will carry you and your family through this hurricane season. When disasters hit, it can take a significant toll on people’s mental health. Call the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and pressing 1 for free, confidential, 24/7 support. VA is ready. Its emergency teams across the country are prepared. The question is whether Veterans will take the steps today to make that system work for them when it counts. “One storm is all it takes. The time to prepare is not after it forms, not after it makes landfall. It’s now,” Neal said. Learn more about the steps to take to be Veteran Ready by visiting Ready.gov/hurricanes. Find resources to help you and your loved ones be prepared and resilient by visiting VA’s Disaster Resources page online. Topics in this storydisaster responseemergency managementHurricaneOffice of Emergency Management & Resilience
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HAHarvey Walden
1 day agoVA Launches Careers Talent Community for Job Seekers
If you’ve ever wanted to get more information about VA that is better curated to your interests, we’ve got just the thing for you. We are proud to announce the launch of the VA Careers Talent Community, a new way for job seekers like you to stay up to date about career opportunities at VA that match your skills and experience. Our goal with this new platform is to provide you with an engaging source of career information and insights, connecting you to information about meaningful opportunities at VA that are aligned with your skills and interests—all right in your email inbox. But the most important feature of the VA Careers Talent Community is… you! The first step to exploring the VA Careers Talent Community is filling out a questionnaire. The information you provide on this form will help us understand what drives you, why you want to heal Veterans and help get you started on your journey to a career here at VA. Tell us where you are now The first section on the VA Careers Talent Community questionnaire will ask about your experience. Now, we’re not asking you for your resume. Instead, we just want to know the basics of your background. If you’re a clinical professional, we’d like to know if you’ve ever interned or trained at a VA facility, and what your professional status is. Are you licensed? Are you in training? For the non-clinical professionals among you, we’ll ask your current field of employment and ask about your areas of expertise. Are you an administrator? Do you work with technology? Food services? Whatever your situation, the information you share will help us make sure you learn more about topics that pertain to you. Tell us what you’re looking for Beyond your current career, we’re going to ask about your level of interest in a VA career. Are you ready to apply right now? Are you just looking for information? Would you apply if the right opportunity came along? Let us know where you are on your career journey. Speaking of where you are—but in a more literal sense this time—we want to know what kind of location interests you. Somewhere more rural and closer to nature? Someplace with access to the conveniences of city life? Do you like a place with history and culture? How about a spot where you can feel the sand between your toes on your days off? We will also ask about what interests you when it comes to the employment benefits we provide here at VA. Are you looking for a better balance between your work and your life? Are you curious about scholarships or loan repayment programs? What about insurance and retirement options? Here, you can choose any (or all) of the above. What happens next Once you’ve completed the intake form, you’ll be part of the VA Careers Talent Community. Welcome! You’ll receive regular email updates with information from our nationwide network of VA facilities so you can find out what it’s like be part of our team. We’ll also send you information about VA-exclusive programs and offer application resources to help guide your career journey. Even if you’re not ready to apply just yet—remember when we asked about that earlier?—there’s still something for you in the VA Careers Talent Community. We’ll help you stay connected to an organization where skills like yours transform Veterans’ lives. With stories and insights from folks who made the jump to VA, you might find something that inspires you to make the same move Join the VA Careers Talent Community Discover how VA cares for Veterans nationwide—and how you can join our team. Learn more about the VA Careers Talent Community at VA Careers.
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HAHarvey Walden
1 day agoVA Federal EHR System Updated with Veteran Exposure Records
The Federal Electronic Health Record (EHR) received critical updates this month enabling the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care teams to make more informed decisions that improve Veteran care. The Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record (ILER), which was created by VA and the Department of War (DOW), provides an electronic record of each service member’s occupational and environmental health exposures over the course of their career. Now available at the 10 Federal EHR live sites, VA teams can use ILER data to inform clinical decisions in exposure-related care and assess disability claims, improving accuracy and processing time of claims and benefits determinations. “Having this important Veteran exposure information available directly in the Federal EHR is a significant improvement from having to search standalone applications,” said VA Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence, Ph.D. “By reducing the need to switch between applications and giving our staff members more efficient access to this data, they can spend more time caring for Veterans.” Six other capability and interface updates In addition to the ILER enhancement this month, there was a series of other planned upgrades across the Federal EHR, including six capability and interface updates that were successfully added to further improve functionality and usability of the system. The Federal EHR is now live at 10 VA Medical Centers and 55 VA clinics, serving more than 408,000 Veterans. Under VA’s accelerated schedule, the following additional Federal EHR deployments will take place this year: June 6, 2026: Chillicothe VA Medical Center (Chillicothe, Ohio) Cincinnati VA Medical Center (Cincinnati, Ohio) Cincinnati VA Medical Center-Fort Thomas (Ft. Thomas, Ky.) Dayton VA Medical Center (Dayton, Ohio) August 2026: Fort Wayne VAMC (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Marion VAMC (Marion, Ind.) Richard L. Roudebush VAMC (Indianapolis, Ind.) October 2026: Alaska VA Healthcare System (Anchorage, Alaska) Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC (Cleveland, Ohio) For more information about the EHRM program and the Federal EHR, visit the EHRM website. Topics in this storyFederal Electronic Health Record
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Community Remembrances
National Memorial Day Concert on PBS
1 week ago
"On Sunday, May 24, the National Memorial Day Concert airs live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, hosted by Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna and Emmy Award-winner Gary Sinise—both longtime champions of Veterans and service members. The beloved annual evening of remembrance will honor 250 years of the courage and sacrifice of our military men and women, their families, and pay tribute to all who have given their lives in service to our nation, with musical salutes and powerful stories of patriots who have defended our nation since 1776. The 37th annual broadcast of the National Memorial Day Concert airs live on Sunday, May 24, 2026, from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. E.T. on PBS, and is seen by our service members around the world on American Forces Network. The concert will also be streaming on YouTube and www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert and available as Video on Demand, May 24 to June 7, 2026. The 2026 National Memorial Day Concert will feature the following segments: 1776 American Revolution, with acclaimed Emmy® and Golden Globe Award-winning actor/director/producer/writer Noah Wyle (The Pitt). The concert will bring the history of 1776 alive with a special tribute to the citizen soldiers and militia men of the thirteen colonies who took tremendous risks for future generations of Americans. These heroes embarked on a war with the world’s greatest military power to win our independence, enduring brutal conditions and often with no pay. The experience of one of these brave American Revolutionary militiamen who fought for General George Washington will be shared. World War II 85th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor, featuring renowned Emmy®-nominated actor Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Beast in Me). The surprise attack on the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, plunged our nation into World War II. More than 2,400 American service members and civilians were killed and over 1,000 wounded on Dec. 7, 1941, the day President Roosevelt declared would “live in infamy.” The 85th anniversary tribute will highlight this monumental time in American history, which galvanized the entire nation, and honor the millions of men and women who left their farms and factories, big cities and small towns to serve in uniform and on the home front. Members of this Greatest Generation will be saluted on stage. 25th Anniversary Remembrance of 9/11 Attacks, with Academy Award®-winning actress Melissa Leo (King Ivory, Frozen River). The shocking events of that day in New York City, over the skies of Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon will be remembered, honoring the commitment Americans made to each other to prevail over an attack on the United States of America. This commemoration will share the story of one of the heroes who faced the unthinkable in the rescue and recovery efforts at the Pentagon, and pay tribute to all those who died that tragic day. The inspiring night of remembrance will also feature performances by: Four-time Grammy-nominated country music star Mickey Guyton; Ten-time Grammy-nominated country music singer-songwriter Jamey Johnson, who served eight years in the Marine Corps Reserve; Award-winning, multi-platinum selling Country Music Hall of Fame member Alan Jackson from the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville; Two-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway and television star Laura Osnes; Emmy® Award-winning, multi-platinum singer, songwriter Andy Grammer; Tony Award-nominated star of stage and screen Mary McCormack (The Pitt, Heels) Two-time Grammy-nominated and two-time DOVE Award-winning singer-songwriter Blessing Offor; The National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly, who is celebrating his 17th season with the concert. "
VA2K Walk promotes physical activity and supports Veterans
2 weeks ago
"An opportunity for exercise, fun and service The VA2K is more than just a walk—it’s a movement that brings people together for a powerful cause. Every May, VA healthcare facilities nationwide host this 1.24‑mile walk to inspire physical activity and support Veterans experiencing homelessness. It’s short enough to fit into a lunch break and meaningful enough to make a real difference. VA Tennessee Valley employees celebrate VA2K in 2025. This year marks the 16th annual VA2K at VA sites nationwide. Last year, 121 VA facilities participated, bringing together 27,170 walkers and generating more than $250,000 of in‑kind donations for Veterans in need. Since the event began in 2011, communities across the country have contributed an incredible $3.8 million in donations. Nancy Gendreau, a nurse practitioner with VA Boston Health Care System, has proudly served as the Boston VA2K coordinator for 16 years and the national coordinator for the past four years. “Every year, this event brings out the very best in our VA workforce and creates a fun, supportive atmosphere for people across the country,” she said. “VA2K is special because it gets people outside, shows how simple it can be to fit a quick walk into your day, and shines a light on the needs of our homeless Veterans. It’s truly a win‑win for everyone involved.” Gendreau’s enthusiasm reflects the spirit of an event built on collaboration. The VA2K is a true team effort, uniting employees, Veterans and community members while highlighting the importance of staying active. Each site collaborates with a range of partners to bring the event to life, including Whole Health, the Center for Development and Civic Engagement (CDCE), Veterans Canteen Service (VCS), Public Affairs and the Homeless Veterans Program. VCS has proudly supported VA2K for 15 years, providing water and coordinating event apparel. CDCE has also been a longtime champion, helping collect, distribute and track donations that directly benefit Veterans in need. A short walk. A strong community. A big impact. That’s the heart of the VA2K."
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