Stories | VA Charleston Health Care

So many of our Veterans have faced dark days stuck in their memories of war, caught in the trap of substance abuse to escape, or dealing with crippling depression and anxiety they just can’t shake.

The Charleston VA offers strategies and treatments to assist Veterans struggling with substance abuse, depression, and anxiety.

In honor of Patient Experience Week, we continue to highlight our amazing VA healthcare community, and we’re proud to announce the winner of the inaugural Experience Excellence award. Congratulations to Samuel “Matt” Matthews, a Voluntary Service Specialist at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center!

Samuel “Matt” Matthews, Winner of Experience Excellence Award

This week, as we celebrate National Volunteer Appreciation Week, our Voluntary Service team took a different approach to recognizing more than 500 Volunteers who give their time and talents to support our Veteran patients and programming.

One of the keys to fighting the spread of coronavirus is ensuring patients in the medical center are placed in the right area at the right time to mitigate the risk to staff and other patients.

Medical Technologist Lolanya Rivers Testing for COVID-19

For Trervor Pham, working for the Veterans Health Administration is more than a career, it is a way to give back to America’s Veterans.

Trervor Pham Donning and Doffing Personal Protective Equipment

For more than a decade, the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center has led the way in bringing virtual care into mainstream medicine.

Ralph H. Johnson Doctor Providing Virtual Care to a Veteran

The phrase “necessity is the mother of invention” has been in use for more than 360 years, but rarely has it been more relevant than the onset of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

Dane Friedman, Chief Engineer at the VAMC, was the driving force behind converting space on the fourth floor into a negative-pressure isolation unit designed to care for coronavirus patients while minimizing risk to the rest of the hospital.

The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center is one of 10 VA Patient Safety Centers of Inquiry (PSCI) selected nationally to develop innovations to improve patient safety throughout VA.

Employee Health Coordinator Janet Muchuelas speaks to an employee about options for smoking cessation. Photo by James Arrowood.

The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center Diabetes Self-Management Education Service (DSMES) located at the main hospital in downtown Charleston has been awarded continued Recognition from the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

Art often has a way of moving people.

Portrait Artist Rick Austin (second from left) with girlfriend Diana Vincent (left), sister of PFC Ralph H. Johnson Helen Richards (center), her daughter Elaine Johnson-Jones and her husband Garry at the portrait dedication.