Stories | VA Hines Health Care

Oscar Solis, Jr. is a retired U.S. Marine who doesn’t like celebrating the Fourth of July.

Sailors watch fireworks in Yokosuka, Japan, August 8, 2018. (U.S. Navy photo by Garrett Zopfi)

Admit it, we all stress eat sometimes, and these past two years have been stressful!

Colorful fruits and veggies such as broccoli, spinach, Granny Smith apples, blueberries, ruby red grapefruit and more displayed neatly on a table.

It was a thoughtful ceremony. Hines VA employees, some Veterans, and a special guest laid the first stones in a Memorial Stone Garden located near the Winter Garden May 26, 2022, in dedication to recently passed Veterans who received their care here at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital.

Judy Sheridan holds a memorial stone for her husband Robert Sheridan, a Vietnam Veteran who passed away in 2020. Sheridan's stone was one of dozens of stones laid in dedication to Edward Hines, Jr. Veterans Hospital's new Memorial Stone Garden located near the Winter Garden

Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital hosted a special conference for nursing leaders to develop methods that can grow Veteran care and facility culture, on May 18, 2022.

Cecilia M. Beauprie presents to fellow attendees at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital’s nursing leadership workshop, May 18, 2022. The day-long event, called Hines Nursing Leadership Advance, included nursing leaders from all hospital services. (Photo by Louis Washkowiak)

Team USA Gold Medalist special abilities cheerleaders visited Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital to hand out hanging flowers to Veterans and health care workers on May 17.

How did part of a World War II battleship end up in Hines VA?

Dr. Nicholas Friedman and Paul Kanabrocki hold a picture of the USS Indiana in front of Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital's retired whole-body radiation counter. The device was completed in 1966 using 65 tons of the USS Indiana and was retired in 1995.

More than 90,000 Americans are currently waiting for a kidney transplant, including Army Veteran Newton Thomas.

Newton Thomas and his wife Sherri pose with members of Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital’s Kidney Transplant Team. Thomas received a kidney transplant at Hines VA on March 14, 2022, becoming the program’s 50th transplant recipient.

Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital received an evaluation of 95 out of 100 and the designation of “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality Top Performer" in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 15th anniversary edition of the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI).

Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital staff celebrate 2021's Pride Month.

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough toured Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital on March 30, 2022.

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough meets Newton Thomas, Army Veteran, during his tour of Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, March 30, 2022. Mr. Thomas recently became Hines VA's 50th kidney transplant recipient.

Take what you need and leave what you can – That's the simple but powerful concept behind new micro food pantries springing up at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital's outpatient clinics and main hospital.