VA Augusta offers wide range of services to local LGBTQ+ Veteran community
PRESS RELEASE
June 5, 2024
Auguta , GA — VA Augusta Health Care System joins the nation in observing Pride Month, celebrating the many invaluable contributions of the LGBTQ+ community, including our LGBTQ+ employees and the Veteran patients under our care.
As part of Pride Month, VA Augusta will host a Pride event from Noon to 1, Friday, June 21, at the Uptown campus auditorium (Room 3B-111) at 1 Freedom Way in Augusta.
“We refuse to set boundaries on the care we provide,” said Jennifer Smentek,
VA Augusta Chief of Social Work and LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator. “In fact, we encourage our Veteran patients from the LGBTQ+ community to share their sexual orientation and gender identities with their VA care team to ensure they are receiving the specialized care they’ve earned.”
VA Augusta provides a wide range of holistic care to LGBTQ+ Veterans, including routine health services, mental health care, as well as specialized care that is specific to the LGBTQ+ community.
VA Augusta Health Care System serves about 50,000 unique Veteran patients each year in Georgia and South Carolina. In addition to the two Medical Center campuses in Augusta, it operates three outpatient clinics in Aiken, South Carolina, and Athens and Statesboro, Georgia.
Media interested in learning about local LGBTQ+ Veteran health care services as part of their Pride Month coverage should email William.Martin6@va.gov.
Will Martin, Chief of Public Affairs
Phone: