Hines VA celebrates Health Professions Education Week
PRESS RELEASE
March 13, 2023
Hines , IL — Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital joins Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities nationwide in recognizing the contributions of academic partners and trainees during VA Health Professions Education Week (March 13 to 17, 2023).
In 1946, VA began academic affiliations with American medical schools to better aid the large influx of World War II Veterans. Today, VA is the nation’s largest health professions training system, with 70 percent of all U.S. physicians receiving training at VA medical centers. More than 113,000 health professions trainees from over 60 disciplines also learn at VA annually.
At Hines VA, over 1,300 medical residents, fellows, students and trainees serve annually in more than 30 graduate medical programs, 18 associate health programs, and three nursing programs.
“Academic partnerships play a vital role at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, which began partnering with Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Rush Medical College, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital years ago,” said Dr. Christina Girgis, associate chief of staff for education at Hines VA.
Loyola University Chicago is the largest Hines VA academic affiliate, with more 850 Loyola residents, fellows and students training at Hines. In 1962, Hines leased 60 acres of property to Loyola to build a medical school next to Hines VA’s main campus.
In addition to its academic affiliations, Hines provides VA-centric training for numerous medical professions, including nursing, psychology, pharmacology and prosthetics.
“If you walk into most doctors’ offices, you’ll likely find someone who trained with VA,” said James Doelling, Hines VA hospital director. “Our education programs enhance the quality of care provided to Veterans, and VA provides world-class training to our nation’s health care providers.”
VA Health Professions Education Week is held annually during the third week of March. The week’s theme, ‘passion to learn; power to heal,’ signifies VA’s educational mission and its impact on the nation’s health care system.
VA invests more than $1 billion annually in clinical education and training programs.
Learn about VA’s Office of Academic Affiliations (OAA) and the health professions training programs by visiting the OAA website.
About Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital
Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, located 12 miles west of downtown Chicago on a 147-acre campus, offers primary, extended and specialty care to Veteran patients in the Chicago area. We are the largest VA in the state of Illinois, where more than a million Veterans reside. The hospital treats more than 44,000 Veterans from World War II through the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.