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Read about what's happening in our VA Charleston health care community.

September is recognized as Suicide Prevention month—a dedicated time aimed at educating clinicians, health care staff and the general public about suicide prevention and potential warning signs.

Veterans in need can access the Veterans Crisis Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Help is just a phone call away.

Answering the phone with a smile, listening to a Veteran’s need and accurately transferring that caller to the appropriate office may seem like a simple task but try completing that action upwards of 500 times during a bustling day shift at Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center.

Charleston VAMC’s dedicated call operators often serve as a Veteran’s friendly first contact with VA. Photo by James Arrowood.

On Sept. 25, The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center’s Trident Clinic in North Charleston will host its second Veteran Health Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 9237 University Blvd.

Charleston VAMC's Trident Clinic will host a Veteran Health Fair on Sept. 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 9237 University Blvd in North Charleston.

The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center is building a team of Veterans to send to the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in April 2019.

Charleston VAMC Chief of Prosthetics David Bradbury skis down the mountains at the 2018 Winter Sports Clinic. He has attended the Winter Sports Clinic several times as an athlete. Photo contributed by David Bradbury.

Peter Demos, though most employees know him as “Pete”, is a housekeeper in the Environmental Management Service (EMS) at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center.

You can often find Peter Demos in the hallways on the fifth floor of Charleston VAMC where he helps maintain the facility’s cleanliness, while also checking-in on employees and asking them about their day during his daily rounds through offices. Photo by James Arrowood.

This Wednesday, July 4, Americans will gather together to celebrate Independence Day, a federal holiday that commemorates the forming of the United States of America through the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

The U.S. flag flies in a position of honor outside Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina. Photo by James Arrowood.

In May, during the Ralph H. Johnson VAMC Hospital Week Celebration, employees throughout the medical center, clinics and off-site locations were asked to participate in a Digital Scavenger Hunt.

Nutrition and Food Service employee Broderick Belton helps Veteran Douglas Kyle select his inpatient meal through the use of an iPad. Photo by Brandy Sims.

Hope can seem scarce when serious medical issues occur, but that’s exactly what the Charleston RiverDogs brought to Veterans and families at Fisher House Charleston on June 14 as they celebrated HOPE Week 2018.

RiverDogs players serve up food and fun at Fisher House Charleston during HOPE Week.

For the fifth year, the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center has teamed up with local radio station 103.5 WEZL to host a special military appreciation seating area at the station’s Party in the Park summer concert series.

Local radio station 103.5 WEZL hosts Party in the Park free concert series.

Friends of Fisher House Charleston President Maj. Joshua Strimple, U.S. Army Reserve paid tribute to the more than 650,000 Veterans who have died in battle while sharing his own poignant story of service during his keynote address at a Memorial Day ceremony held May 25.

Maj. Josh Strimple, U.S. Army Reserve, gives the keynote address at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center Memorial Day Ceremony. Photo by James Arrowood.