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VA Boston health care top stories.

Comcast's Veteran Network and VA Boston unveil haven for Veteran and military families

In a touching ceremony held Nov. 7, 2023, at the West Roxbury VA campus in Massachusetts, the collaborative efforts of VA Boston Healthcare System staff and Comcast’s Veteran Network culminated in the ribbon cutting and dedication of Adam's Corner.

VA Boston’s Anita Ranade, assistant director and Elizabeth St. Pierre, Fischer House manager, with Barry Bader, vice president for Comcast Business Greater Boston, and members of Comcast’s Veteran Network during a ribbon cutting for Adam’s Corner at the West Roxbury VA Campus, Mass., Nov. 7, 2023.

My Life, My Story: Patricia Odom

My childhood was unique! I had the opportunity to grow up in Alabama and Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, my biological mother walked away from the family, and her family had to raise us.

Army Veteran Patricia Odom, the first Black woman recruiter in Massachusetts. “I get all my health care at VA and I’m very happy with the service,” she said. (VA Boston HCS photo by Winfield Danielson)

Danish healthcare experts visit VA Boston Healthcare System's West Roxbury campus

Members of the Danish Consulate in Boston and a delegation of Danish health system directors visited the VA Boston Healthcare System's West Roxbury, Mass., campus March 21, 2023.

Dr. Yelena Kamenker-Orlov, medical director of the VA Boston’s West Roxbury Primary Care Clinic gives a tour to visiting Danish healthcare representatives as part of a meeting March 21, 2023, to discuss VA health care and similar challenges facing both healthcare systems. (VA Boston HCS photo)

Infertility among recent war Veterans

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Legacy have partnered to test and cryopreserve sperm from 1,000 Global War on Terror Veterans across the United States to investigate why Veterans from recent wars are more likely to struggle with infertility than their civilian peers.

Graphic: “This effort is important to further understanding and tackling a challenge so many … Veterans face,” said Dr. Ryan Vega, chief of VA healthcare innovation. VA and Legacy are investigating why recent Veterans are more likely to experience infertility.

The BAT-L uses novel forensic interview techniques to evaluate TBI in post-9/11 Veterans

Mild traumatic brain injuries are not visible, not readily identified, and often overlooked.

Photo: Students in the Army Combat Medic Specialist Training Program at the Medical Education and Training Campus, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, conduct a concussion evaluation. (Photo by Lisa Braun, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston)

Meet Belle

German Shorthaired Pointers typically aren’t the breed you think of when you hear about police dogs.

K9 Belle, VA Boston Healthcare System Police, and Sgt. Sergeant Nathan Dufault, a lead police officer and dog handler for Belle at VA Boston's Brockton campus, Oct. 25, 2022. (VA Boston HCS photo by Deirdre Salvas)

Veteran Profile: Kevin Walker

Navy Veteran Kevin Walker served as a surgical technician.

Photo: Navy Veteran Kevin Walker has been working towards a degree in computer science, but is dependent on hemodialysis treatments three times weekly for his survival. His best chance is to find a living kidney donor. (Photo provided courtesy of Kevin Walker)

Fostering connection: Museum of Fine Arts Access to Art Program

The 2022 Healthcare for Homeless Veterans, or HCHV, Excellence in Advocacy Award was presented to five members of the Museum of Fine Arts’ Access to Art Program during the VA Boston Healthcare System’s sixth annual Community Partners Appreciation Ceremony, June 23, 2022, at the Brockton VA Campus.

Photo: The reflection of Sixto Escobar, an Air Force Veteran, is seen in a mirror that is part of an art installation at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, June 24, 2022, in Boston, Mass. The installation is for the Portraits of Leadership Community Project, which will be on display from Sept. 2 through Oct. 30, 2022. (Photo courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass.)

Community residential care team helps Veteran residents recover from fire

In the early morning hours of Feb. 22, 2022, a fire broke out at the Acorn Hill Home in Middleboro, Mass., because of an unattended candle in a bedroom.

From left to right: Jason McCall VA Boston Healthcare System social worker, Grishelda Hogan, VA Boston HCS Peace, Acceptance, Transformation and Honor program coordinator, Sheila Offley, Acorn Hill staff, Olafur Petursson and Margret Gudmundsson, Acorn Hill co-owners, Elena Buckley, assistant director for the VA Boston HCS Brockton campus, James Scannell and Richard Davis, Acorn Hill residents and VA Boston HCS Veteran patients, and Susan Morales, VA Boston HCS social worker.

Rideshare program wins American Spirit Award

Congratulations to Charles Franklin, whose rideshare program received an American Spirit Award at the 76th Annual VAVS National Advisory Committee Meeting and Conference in Denver, Colorado.

Photo of Charles Franklin, innovation project manager at the VA New England Center for Innovation Excellence, who developed a rideshare program for Veterans while at the VA Boston Healthcare System.