U.s. Department Of Veterans Affair Va Medical Center

22, 2014 U.S. Department of Veterans Affair: VA Medical Center Introduction The Department of Veterans Affairs is a government run program to assist the U.S. Veterans who are disabled soldiers. It began when the Pilgrims passed a law that required disabled soldiers to receive benefits from the colony, as early as 1636 (U.S. Dept. of VA, 2014). By 1776, the Continental Congress provided pensions to disabled soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Later, the Veterans assistance program expanded to include benefits and pensions not only for Veterans but also for their widows and dependents. Finally, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) was established in 1865, to form the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, an institution†¦show more content†¦Dept. of VA, 2014). The Department of Veterans Affairs core values is, â€Å"Core values describe an organization’s culture and character and serve as the foundation for the way individuals in an organization interact with each other and with people outside of the organization. The Department of Veterans Affairs Core Values and Characteristics apply across the entire VA enterprise† (U.S Dept. of VA, 2014). The Veterans must have serve during a war or conflict such as World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, the Gulf War, which includes the Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) as well as Veterans intervening peacetime operations (U.S. Dept. of VA, 2014). The VA is the second largest department of the federal government and the Veterans Health Administration is known to be the largest integrated health care system in America, but faces complex challenges. Due to the impacted health care delivery system in supporting the Veterans in their time after service, the VHA neglected their duties, manipulated their records and reports for financial gain, and allowed Veterans to experience long health care delays, which increased the mortality and morbidity rates. In-Dept Analysis As of June 30, 2014, the VA Benefits and Health Care Utilization has 8.92 million enrollees in the VA health care system with an estimated Veteran population of 21,973,000, of which 10% are female Veterans (NCVAS, 2014). The Veterans makes