Clement J. Zablocki Veterans' Administration Medical Center

If you’re a Veteran with a disability or a senior Veteran (age 55 or older), our adaptive sports program can help you improve your independence, well-being, and quality of life. We work with national, regional, and community-based organizations to provide opportunities through our support of:

• Inpatient and outpatient sports activities, and community partners specializing in adapted sports.
• National Veterans Wheelchair Games, which serves Veterans with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, amputations, stroke, and other neurological disorders.
• National Veterans Golden Age Games, which offers sports and health education to help senior Veterans live an active and healthy lifestyle.
• National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, which uses skiing and snowboarding to help Veterans with profound disabilities overcome challenges.
• The National Disabled Veterans TEE Tournament, which offers Veterans with life-changing disabilities golf instruction and a range of adaptive sports opportunities.
• National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic, which promotes the value of rehabilitation through summer sports, like surfing, sailing, kayaking, and cycling.

We help Veterans on their recovery journey through outpatient and inpatient services. Our residential facility helps Veterans deal with substance abuse, homelessness, mental health, and unemployment through its 24-hour therapeutic and educational programs like:

• Rehabilitation
• Health maintenance
• Community support

Learn more about our VA treatment programs

To speak to a VA Health Connect professional, dial your VA Medical Center or Community Based Outpatient Clinic and select option 3 for Clinical Triage.

• Milwaukee VA Medical Center:
• Union Grove VA Clinic:
• Cleveland VA Clinic: 
• Appleton VA Clinic:
• Green Bay VA Clinic:

Clinical Triage (previously known as Telephone Care Service or Nurse Advice Line) allows you to talk to a Registered Nurse and discuss new or worsening medical or mental health concerns and receive recommendations for health care needs.  This may also include virtual clinic visits with a VA Health Connect Doctor by phone or video to discuss healthcare needs.

We diagnose, evaluate, and treat your asthma, allergies, and non-HIV immune deficiencies. Our services include:

• Skin tests, blood tests, and other exams to identify food, drug, insect, pollen, animal, dust and other allergies.
• Prescribing and managing allergy medications that can ease your symptoms by reducing your immune system response to the things that cause your allergic reaction.
• Performing asthma tests to measure lung function and see how much air moves in and out as you breathe.
• Prescribing long-term and quick-relief asthma medications to reduce inflammation and open your swollen airways.
• Specialized treatments for your immune deficiency disorders.

The Amputation Specialty Clinic Team is an interdisciplinary team that will assess your clinical needs and create a treatment plan for amputation-related care such as prescribing appropriate prosthetic devices, evaluating the fit and function of all prosthetic devices and conducting annual follow-up to ensure continuity and lifelong management based on clinical care needs.

Your core team would likely consist of the prescribing clinician, a therapist with experience in limb loss rehabilitation and a prosthetist, the individual specializing in limb fabrication.

Our specially trained doctors, called anesthesiologists, can help with your care before, during, and after surgery. They will develop a plan for your care and safety, provide medicine to keep you comfortable during your operation, and help you manage your pain after surgery. Our services include:

• General anesthesia (intravenous drugs, inhaled gasses, or some combination) to keep you pain-free and in a sleep-like state during surgery or other medical procedures.
• Regional anesthesia (injecting numbing drugs around nerves) to control pain in specific parts of your body during or after surgery.
• Monitoring your breathing and vital body functions while you're under anesthesia.
• Working with the rest of your care team to manage your pain medications after your operation.
• Coordinating care with your other health care professionals to facilitate a smooth transition from hospital to home.

Our Audiology and Speech Pathology clinic provides diagnostic and rehabilitative services, VA compensation and pension examinations, and screening for employee hearing conservation. We offer a full range of audiology and speech pathology services like:

• Hearing and balance evaluations
• Selection, management, and repair of hearing aids and assistive listening device assessments
• Evaluation, programming, and management of cochlear implants and bone-anchored implants
• Evaluation and treatment for auditory processing disorder
• Services that help with speech, language, fluency, voice, cognitive communication, swallowing, stuttering, and laryngectomy (surgical removal of the larynx, which contains your vocal cords)

Learn more about VA hearing aids

Bariatric surgery, also called weight loss surgery, reduces the size of your stomach and length of your small intestine to limit the amount of food that can be eaten or absorbed. Bariatric surgery can be done in several ways: 

• Sleeve gastrectomy removes part of your stomach, leaving only a slender “sleeve.” 
• Gastric bypass, also called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, shrinks stomach size and re-routes your digestive system so you don’t absorb as much food.

VA offers the latest minimally-invasive and robotic surgery services to Veterans with morbid obesity and related medical conditions. Prep for bariatric surgery is done at Milwaukee VA, surgery is performed at another VA medical facility.

Our low vision outpatient clinic can assess your needs and provide a rehab plan tailored to your personal goals. Our team of specialists and social workers will work with you to find the right aids and services. Our clinic services include:

• Comprehensive eye exams
• Visual skills assessments
• Guidance on how to develop visual motor and perceptual skills
• Training to help you manage daily activities with your vision loss

Advanced Low Vision Clinic (ALVC)  

MISSION: To enhance the independence and quality of life of Veterans and service members who have experienced vision loss and to restore their roles in their families and communities.

The ALVC serves any veteran or active-duty service member who is 18 years or older, is eligible for VA medical center care and services, and has functional vision loss.

The clinic is part of the VHA Blind Rehabilitation Service (BRS) Continuum of Care.

Learn more about services available through the Advanced Low Vision Clinic.

Learn more about VA blind and low vision rehabilitation services.

Learn more about VA vision care.

We provide COVID-19 vaccinations to Veterans enrolled in VA health care.

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines at VA

If you’re diagnosed with cancer, our team will work with you, your primary care doctor, and other health care providers to develop a specialized treatment plan. We offer personal, compassionate, and expert care, with services like:

• Surgical removal of tumors and other cancerous tissue
• Immunotherapy, which helps your body’s natural defenses destroy cancer cells
• Chemotherapy, which uses powerful drugs to fight cancer
• Radiotherapy, which uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors
• Palliative care, to reduce pain and control other symptoms and side effects, like nausea

We perform noninvasive and minimally invasive tests and procedures that check, support, and improve your heart health. We’ll work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan and treat you with the most effective medications. Our services include:

• Evaluating you for coronary heart disease, heart-valve disease, and heart defects
• Determining how well blood flows through your heart vessels or find the cause of your heart failure
• Treating your heart vessels with nonsurgical or minimally invasive operations that open and support them through balloon angioplasty or stent placement
• Noninvasively monitoring you for changes in heart rhythm, using electrocardiograms (EKGs or ECGs), portable Holt monitors, or ultrasound
• Performing surgical treatments like pacemaker implants or cardiac catheterization (inserting a long, thin tube into an artery or vein)

Our cardiovascular surgeons diagnose and surgically treat medical conditions that affect your heart and blood vessels. Our procedures include:

• Coronary bypass surgery to redirect blood around a section of blocked artery in your heart.
• Heart valve surgery to repair or replace a damaged valve in your heart.
• Vascular surgery to repair veins, improve blood flow and treat other diseases and disorders that affect your arteries, veins and lymphatic system.
• Coronary angioplasty and stent placement to open blocked or narrowed arteries that carry blood to your heart.
• Pacemaker implant or cardiac ablation to correct abnormal heart rhythm.

If you’re a caregiver for a Veteran, you can get support by contacting one of our caregiver support coordinators. If the Veteran you care for was injured post-9/11, you may be eligible for even more services, including a stipend to help with expenses, training, and medical coverage if you aren’t already covered. For all caregivers, we can:

• Help you get caregiver assistance available through VA
• Provide progressive needs planning to help you manage degenerative conditions
• Match you with services and benefits
• Connect you with local resources and programs
• Listen to you when you struggle

Learn more and connect with a support coordinator

VA Milwaukee health care chaplains serve people of all faiths and denominations as well as patients and families looking for non-denominational support. They are here to listen and offer spiritual and emotional support as you struggle with tough questions and ethical decisions. 

Click here to learn more about Milwaukee VA Chaplain Services.

We offer the latest in diagnosis and treatment for disorders of the colon, rectum, and anus, including minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgeries. Our surgeons work closely with other doctors in gastroenterology, oncology, urology, and other specialties to make sure you receive comprehensive and personalized care. We can help you with conditions like:

• Colon and rectal cancer .
• Colon polyps (growths on the lining of your colon or large intestine).
• Inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
• Diverticulitis (inflammation of pouches that can form in your intestines).
• Anal problems such as hemorrhoids, fissures (small tears in the lining of your anus), and fistula (infected tunnels between your skin and your anus).

 We provide private organizations and community agencies education on our Veteran community and military culture. Together, we build referral networks to expand support for Veterans, service members, and their families.

We use complementary medicine along with standard medical treatments, like using acupuncture to help lessen the side effects of chemotherapy. We also provide alternative medicine instead of traditional medical treatments, like using herbs rather than prescription drugs to treat cancer. We offer treatments, like:

• Natural products and special diets
• Deep breathing, meditation, and yoga
• Acupuncture and acupressure

All VA family services are consistent with a recovery philosophy and provide a continuum of services including:

• Prevention/family resiliency training
• Family education/training
• Marriage and family counseling

Doctors in our intensive care units (ICUs) treat patients with serious illnesses or injuries, such as life-threatening infections, severe burns, brain injuries and organ failure. Our critical care doctors (called intensivists) and nurses provide you with a full range of services, including:

• Monitor your heart rate, blood pressure and breathing with cardiac and oxygen telemetry.
• Help your lungs work using a mechanical ventilator.
• Provide nutrition through a feeding tube in your vein, nose or mouth.
• Drain urine from your bladder using a catheter.
• Give fluids and medicine through your vein using an IV pump.
• Help prevent blood clots in your legs by using inflatable compression wraps and boots.

If you’re eligible for VA dental care, we offer a full range of quality dental services like:

• Routine exams and teeth cleaning
• Restorative procedures, including fillings and crowns
• Comprehensive surgical care, including extractions (pulling teeth) and oral cancer screening
• Routine and advanced prosthodontic care, including bridges, dentures, and dental implants
• Routine and advanced periodontal care, including root canals, gum treatments, and supporting bone care
• Oral and facial reconstruction surgery to repair damage from traumatic injury or serious illness

Resource Packet for Veterans Ineligible for Dental Benefits

We diagnose and treat medical conditions relating to the skin, hair and nails. Our care and services include:

• Medically necessary treatments for skin conditions, such as skin cancer or rashes.
• Specialized treatments for acute (short-term) and chronic (long-lasting) skin conditions, including psoriasis, eczema, warts and fungal illnesses.
• Evaluation, biopsy and treatment of cancerous or pre-cancerous skin conditions, like abnormal moles and lesions.
• Laser procedures for vascular malformations, scar revisions and tattoo removal.
• Other special dermatological procedures, such as photodynamic therapy, ultraviolet light treatment and facial volume restoration in special patient populations.
• Teledermatology (a telehealth resource), which gives patients quick access to expert opinions.
• Referrals for complex conditions.

We offer many medical and support services to help you manage your diabetes, like:

• Self-management, education, and support classes
• Insulin therapy and blood-glucose meter training
• Diabetes survival skills that include sick-day management, lifestyle changes, nutrition advice, and cooking classes
   

Learn about the Virtual Diabetes Optimization Program

The Milwaukee VA Emergency Department is open 24/7, providing care for medical and mental health emergencies and illnesses.

Staffed by board-certified emergency medicine physicians, emergency nurses and mental health providers, the Milwaukee VA Emergency Department has been recognized for exceptional patient care and patient satisfaction.

We diagnose and treat hormone imbalances and other endocrine system problems that can create or complicate serious medical conditions such as:

• Thyroid or parathyroid disorders.
• Hyper- and hypo-calcemia.
• Osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease.
• Pituitary disease.
• Hypogonadism.
• Adrenal disease.
• Diabetes.
• Obesity.

Our endocrinologists can:

• Measure the level of various hormones in your body.
• Measure your blood glucose level.
• Determine the cause and proper treatment of endocrine and metabolic disorders.
• Provide transgender hormone management.

We diagnose and treat medical conditions in your esophagus, stomach, intestines, colon, and other parts of your digestive system. We can also test and treat other organs, like your liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. Our gastroenterology department provides services like:

• Colonoscopy, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), which use an endoscope (a long, flexible tube with a small camera on the end) that lets us examine your digestive system
• Endoscopic ultrasound, which uses high-frequency sound waves to create images that help us diagnose and evaluate digestive and lung diseases
• Manometry study, which tests how well your esophagus is working
• Small bowel capsule endoscopy, which uses a tiny wireless camera that takes pictures as it moves through your digestive system
• 24-hour pH study, which measures how much stomach acid is flowing into your esophagus and helps us assess conditions like severe heartburn and acid reflux

Genomic testing looks at how your body works on a molecular level. We examine your genes to figure out your illness risk, progression, and recurrences to: 

• Predict responses to cholesterol-lowering drugs.
• Diagnose and treat breast, ovarian, colon, lung and other cancers.
• Provide personalized medication by customizing the type and dosage for each patient.

We assess your situation and condition to decide which outpatient geriatric services are right for you or a senior Veteran in your care, and then we coordinate your care. Our team of specialists provides geriatric services that include:

• Medicine and nursing.
• Psychology, psychiatry and social work.
• Physical and occupational therapy.

Learn more about VA geriatrics and extended care.

Our gynecologists focus on the female reproductive system and provide services that include:

• Mammograms for breast cancer, screenings for sexually transmitted disease, and Pap tests for cervical cancer
• Counseling and treatment for contraception, pregnancy, and infertility
• Osteoporosis screening for brittle bones
• Exams for abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pain, or various cancers
• Primary care checkups

If you and your family are living with HIV or hepatitis, our dedicated professionals can provide compassionate care and counseling. Our confidential services include:

• Hepatitis C screening.
• HIV testing and treatment.
• Medication (PEP) taken after potential exposure to HIV.
• Specialty care referrals.
• One-to-one patient education.

We offer a range of hematology and oncology services. You can arrange appointments and consultation through your primary care provider. Our hematology and oncology services include:

• Chemotherapy
• Blood and platelet transfusions
• Mediport flushes to clean and maintain the small medical appliance inserted under your skin, making it easier to inject drugs and draw blood
• Evaluation and treatment of blood disorders and cancer
• Dedicated outpatient infusion center, working closely with radiation oncology, interventional radiology, general surgery, diagnostics, palliative care, and social services
• Bone marrow biopsies, to see whether your bone tissue is healthy and making a normal number of blood cells

We help Veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless due to financial hardship, unemployment, addiction, depression, or transition from jail. Contact one of our care coordinators to get help with:

• Immediate food and shelter needs, including both transitional and permanent housing
• Job training, life skills development, and education
• Justice system navigation and community reentry from jail
• Financial support to prevent homelessness
• Addiction and depression treatment
• Health and dental care

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator

Special doctors called “hospitalists” oversee your care when you are admitted to the hospital for an illness or injury, or after you have surgery. Our hospitalists provide a range of services, like:

• Clear and timely communication with you and your family.
• Care coordination with your other doctors.
• Patient advocacy and assistance.
• Triage and bed flow coordination to improve patient care.
• Inpatient medical consultations.

We test for, evaluate, and treat for many infectious diseases. You’ll need a referral from your primary care physician to get these services. We offer: 

• Testing and screening for hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases.
• Prevention strategies and treatment.
• Counseling and compassionate care for people who live with infectious diseases.

We  provide high-quality, comprehensive, patient-centered health care to patients in an empathetic, efficient and professional manner. Services include:

• Health guidance for patients with appropriate anticipatory guidance, prevention (i.e. immunization) and screening measures.
• Assessment, diagnosis and management of acute and chronic conditions.
• Healthy lifestyle promotion for our patients and their families by educating on nutrition and exercise.
• After-hours care through 24/7 availability of providers by phone to ensure maximum accessibility.

The Veteran population is at greater risk for experiencing and/or using violence in their intimate relationships than the civilian population. Contact us for help with:

• Emotional intimate partner violence (IPV), which commonly begins before other types of IPV.
• Physical IPV.
• Sexual IPV, whether by physical force or by trying to convince a partner.
• Stalking, which includes continuous unwanted contact, following, talking, or sending things.
• Threats of violence.

We promote the health, welfare, and dignity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) Veterans and their families. We focus on ensuring a safe, welcoming, and affirmative environment when providing you with sensitive and high-quality health care services like:

• Hormone therapy
• Substance use and alcohol treatment
• Testing and treatment for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI)
• Mental health care
• Psychosocial assessments for gender-confirming surgeries and hormone therapy

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator

Our laboratories provide a full range of clinical and diagnostic testing services. Our laboratory and pathology services include:

• Study of blood, urine, and other bodily fluids for illness management
• Testing for infectious diseases
• Cytopathology (study of unusual cells) and surgical pathology (study of tissue removed during surgery)
• Autopsy services

MOVE! is a weight-management program designed to help you live a longer, healthier life. With the help of your MOVE! care team, you can eat a healthier diet, get more exercise, reduce your health risks, and improve your quality of life. The MOVE! program offers:

• Weight-loss support groups to help you lose weight and keep it off
• Healthy eating tips and cooking classes
• Behavioral change strategies to help you live a healthier lifestyle

Learn more about MOVE!

Our medical center and clinics provide consultation, evaluation, and treatment for a range of issues that may impact your mental health or emotional well-being. Our confidential outpatient services include individual and group therapy for:

• Psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression
• Marriage and relationship problems
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Anxiety, addictive behaviors, and personality disorders
• Aggressive or self-harming behaviors

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator

We offer care for military sexual trauma in our mental (behavioral) health clinics. Military sexual trauma refers to sexual assault, sexual harassment, or other threatening, offensive, or unwanted sexual advances, activities, or remarks that you experienced in the military. Our goal is to help you improve your quality of life with strategies to manage emotions and memories related to your military sexual trauma. Our services include:

• Counseling
• Psychiatric care
• Walk-in care

Learn more about military sexual trauma

If you’re a minority Veteran, we can help you get the services and benefits you need. Our Minority Veterans Program serves all Veterans who are Black American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American (including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Island Americans). We work to:

• Help the medical center address minority Veterans’ needs
• Meet minority Veterans’ needs in the local community
• Identify barriers and create a more accessible environment for minority Veterans
• Inform minority Veterans of VA benefits, services, and programs

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator

My HealtheVet is a web-based tool you can use to manage your care and improve your health from your computer or mobile device. You can access your personal health records and use tools to manage your care through our My HealtheVet online system. You can also use My HealtheVet to refill your prescriptions, track appointments, and read informative health articles. If you need help using My HealtheVet, you can contact our coordinator by phone or in person. With My HealtheVet, you can:

• Ask questions and exchange secure online messages with your VA health care team
• Check your lab and test results
• Refill your prescriptions, track delivery, and view a list of your medications
• Keep track of your VA medical appointments and get email reminders
• View, download, or print a copy of your VA medical records
• Enter or update your personal information

Learn more and register for My HealtheVet

Our team of kidney doctors (nephrologists) actively manage all aspects of adult kidney disease, kidney and bladder stones, renal hypertension (high blood pressure caused by kidney disease), and mineral and bone disorders. We provide inpatient and outpatient services, like:

• Dialysis preparation and referral
• Home patient monitoring
• Kidney transplant evaluation
• Kidney disease education

We provide inpatient and outpatient services for chronic diseases and disorders that affect your brain, spine, and the nerves that connect them. Our neurologists read electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, which measure the electrical impulses brain cells use to communicate with each other. We evaluate and treat many neurological illnesses and disorders such as:

• Neuropathy (nerve damage), myelopathy and other spinal cord injuries, and radiculopathy (pinched nerves)
• Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis
• Stroke, dementia, and degenerative diseases
• Other neurological conditions

Although many people think of neurosurgery as brain surgery, it's much more. Our neurosurgeons diagnose and treat a wide range of conditions related to your nervous system, like:

• Brain, spinal cord and spinal column injuries, illnesses and disorders.
• Brain and spinal tumors.
• Neck pain and sciatica (nerve pain in your lower back hip, or leg).
• Herniated disks and degenerative illnesses of the spine.

Our registered dietitians can help you maintain or improve your health with good nutrition tailored to your needs. Through group, individual, and telehealth sessions, we provide nutrition education and counseling in areas such as:

• Cardiovascular and heart health
• Chronic kidney disease
• Diabetes
• Malnutrition
• Weight management, including:
  • MOVE!
  • TeleMOVE!
  • Healthy Teaching Kitchen

We offer comprehensive evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment for eye-related illnesses, injuries, and other issues. Our ophthalmology services include:

• Medical care for glaucoma, eye infections, and other conditions
• Surgery for cataracts, traumatic eye injuries, and other problems
• Treatment for eye conditions related to illnesses like diabetes or arthritis
• Plastic surgery to repair droopy eyelids, clear blocked tear ducts, and perform eyelid and facial reconstruction (oculoplastics)

Our optometrists provide many eye-related services and treatments like:

• Vision services and eye exams
• Treatment for diseases and injuries of the retina, cornea, and other parts of your eye
• Low-vision services for conditions like macular degeneration that can’t be corrected by glasses, surgery, or medication
• Special eye exams for diabetic patients

We also offer an Advanced Low Vision Clinic for Veterans with functional vision loss.

We use surgical and nonsurgical means to treat illnesses and disorders of the musculoskeletal system, which includes your bones, muscles, joints, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissue. We treat conditions like:

• Musculoskeletal trauma
• Degenerative illnesses
• Sports injuries

We evaluate, diagnose and treat a wide range of ear, nose and throat conditions, like:

• Nasal and sinus problems
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Throat, lymph node, thyroid, and parathyroid tumors and other conditions
• Voice and swallowing disorders

Our outpatient surgery, also called ambulatory or day surgery, allows you to get the care you need without staying overnight at our hospital. Our surgeons provide many outpatient services like:

• Gastric bypass surgery to help you lose weight
• Cataract surgery to replace your cloudy eye lens with a clear artificial lens
• Lumpectomy to remove cancerous and noncancerous breast tumors
• Colonoscopy to examine your large intestine (colon), the end of your small intestine (ileum), and your rectum
• Tendon, muscle, and small joint repair for conditions like hernia, arthritis, and rotator cuff (shoulder) injury
• Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery (cholecystectomy) to remove your gallbladder and gallstones through small cuts in your abdomen

If you have symptoms of PTSD after a traumatic event, we can help. We offer assessment and treatment support such as private counseling, group therapy and medication. It’s never too late to get help.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault. It’s normal to have upsetting memories, feel on edge, or have trouble sleeping after this type of event. If symptoms last more than a few months, it may be PTSD. We can help you with effective treatments and support services, like:

• Psychiatric and psychological counseling
• Services for Veterans who are homeless
• Treatment for addictive disorders
• Transition and care management for post-9/11 combat Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND)

Learn more about PTSD

Acute (short-term) or chronic (long-lasting) pain can make it hard to enjoy life, but effective pain management can help. Our experts work with you, your primary care physician, and other specialists to create a plan to help you manage your pain and improve your quality of life. Our services include:

• Relieve pain without medication.
• Prescribing and supervising your use of medications.
• Teaching you skills that include meditation, mindfulness training, relaxation, yoga, and tai chi to help you manage your pain.
• Providing physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, biofeedback, and other compatible therapies.

Our palliative and hospice care services support you and your family as you cope with a life-threatening or terminal illness. Palliative care works to provide comfort, reduce suffering, and improve the quality of life for patients being treated for serious illnesses. Hospice care focuses on helping patients with terminal illnesses to manage the final stages of their lives. Our palliative and hospice care services include:

• Pain and symptom management
• Emotional, spiritual, and psychosocial support for you and your family
• Help with practical issues that include an advance directive (living will), health care power of attorney, funeral arrangements, and applying for VA death and burial benefits
• Education to help you and your family make informed health care decisions and know what to expect as your health declines
• Bereavement care to help surviving family members during the grieving process

Our patient advocates work hard to make sure you receive the best possible care at our health care facilities. They can:

• Help you get answers or address concerns with your care team
• Advocate for patient and family rights
• Serve as advocates for minority Veterans, women Veterans, and Veterans with disabilities
• Offer specialized help to former prisoners of war and Veterans transitioning from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND)

Learn more and connect with a patient advocate

Our pharmacy provides you and other Veterans with convenient, efficient service to make it easy to get your medications and medical supplies. You can:

• Pick up new prescriptions in person
• Refill prescriptions online and by phone or mail
• Safely dispose of medicines

Learn more about our pharmacy

Our physical medicine and rehabilitation doctors and therapists focus on whole-body health. They can help you manage your pain, increase your independence, and improve your quality of life with services like:

• Personalized therapy for your rehabilitation.
• Medication, stretching and massage for short-term pain relief.
• Strengthening exercises and movement therapy to increase fitness and prevent future pain.
• Recreation therapy to create coping and social skills.
• Occupational therapy to improve coordination and balance, and help you manage life skills and everyday activities.
• Assessment and treatment of speech, language and swallowing disorders.

Physical therapy, occupational therapy and kinesiotherapy can help restore movement and function if you have been disabled by injury or disease.

If you’re living with or recovering from an injury, illness or chronic condition that limits your mobility and independence, we can help. Our physical, occupational and movement therapists combine therapeutic exercise, counseling, education and training to help you improve your health and quality of life. Our services include:

• Pain relief and joint mobilization.
• Movement and exercise therapies to improve your strength, endurance, balance and coordination.
• Mobility assessment and training with wheelchairs, scooters and walking devices.
• Life skills training and activities to help you maintain the highest level of independence and functionality.
• Aquatic therapy to manage chronic pain.
• Evaluation and treatment for a wide range of medical, orthopedic, psychosocial and neurological conditions.

Plastic and reconstructive surgery can restore function and appearance after damage from disease, burns, traumatic injuries, congenital and developmental conditions and other causes.

Our plastic and reconstructive surgeons perform surgery to improve body function or correct facial and body abnormalities caused by birth defects, injury, disease or aging. We also perform cosmetic surgery to create a more normal appearance and improve self-esteem. Our services include:

• Surgical repair of congenital deformities such as cleft lips and palates.
• Skin cancer surgery to remove malignant moles, lesions, and tumors from your skin.
• Breast reduction and reconstruction surgery.
• Skin grafts to treat burns, injuries, or illnesses, which involves removing skin from one part of your body and grafting it to another.
• Nasal reconstruction surgery to change the shape of your nose.

Our podiatry specialists evaluate and treat a wide range of injuries, diseases and disorders that affect your feet and ankles—from ingrown toenails to inflammation to diabetic foot ulcers.

After years of walking, running, marching, jumping, rappelling, and parachuting, many Veterans experience trouble with their feet and ankles. We can help treat those problems so you can continue to enjoy an active lifestyle. Our podiatry services include:

• Arthritis care for inflamed, swollen, or damaged joints
• Foot and ankle fracture treatment, repair of cartilage, torn tendons and ligaments
• Injections to reduce pain and swelling
• Joint arthroplasty (surgical repair or reconstruction) and replacement
• Minimally invasive surgery and post-surgical rehabilitation
• Foot health maintenance procedures (bunion removal, resurfacing, and nail trimming)

Our specialized rehabilitation program network serves severely injured Veterans and service members who have multiple combat- or civilian-related traumatic injuries. We offer:

• Physical, visual and cognitive rehabilitation.
• State-of-the-art prosthetics.
• Psychological and psychosocial services.
• Ongoing case management services.

Your VA primary care provider will work closely with you to plan for all the care you need to stay healthy and well throughout your life, including immunizations and vaccinations. They will also work with family members or caregivers who support you.

A strong network of family and internal medicine specialists and services can offer you the best possible care. Internal medicine doctors (internists) prevent, diagnose, and treat adult diseases. Doctors who specialize in family medicine provide primary health care to the entire family. Your primary care team can coordinate the many services you receive such as:

• Labs and blood work
• Mental health care
• Women's health care
• Radiology
• Social services
• Telehealth
• Flu shots

We provide and help you use medical aids, hearing aids, state-of-the-art adaptive home equipment and other equipment to help you preserve and increase your mobility and independence.

VA is the world’s largest and most comprehensive provider of sensory aides and prosthetic devices. Veterans enrolled in the VA Boston Healthcare System and referred by a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician can receive the full range of services and equipment, including:

• Artificial limbs and surgical implants, including artificial joints and pacemakers.
• Wheelchairs and other medical devices.
• Aids for Veterans who are blind, have low vision or are hearing impaired.
• Adaptive equipment and modifications to make your vehicle or home more accessible.
• Other devices and services to help increase your mobility, dignity and independence.
• Clothing allowance for Veterans with devices that damage their clothing.

If you’re struggling with a mental health problem—or just need to talk with someone—we can help. We offer treatment and support such as therapy, alternative treatments  and medications when needed.

Good mental health is a vital part of your overall wellness. Our psychiatry teams offer consultation, evaluation, and treatment to help you with a range of mental and behavioral health problems, including:

• Depression (including sadness and grief), anxiety (including worry and nervousness), and personality disorders.
• Addictive behaviors and substance abuse.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and combat-related stress disorder.
• Emotional issues like anger management and relationship challenges, confused thinking, memory problems and invasive thoughts or ideas.
• Aggressive or self-harming behaviors.

Learn more about VA mental health services.

If you’re struggling with a mental health problem—or just need to talk with someone—we can help. We offer treatment and support such as therapy, alternative treatments and medications when needed.

Our psychology teams offer consultation, evaluation, and treatment to help with a range of mental and behavioral health problems like:

• Depression (including sadness and grief), anxiety (including worry and nervousness), and personality disorders
• Addictive behaviors and substance abuse
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and combat-related stress disorder
• Emotional issues like anger management and relationship challenges
• Confused thinking, memory problems, and invasive thoughts or ideas
• Aggressive or self-harming behaviors

Our pulmonary medicine team treats diseases and conditions that affect the lungs and breathing, including asthma, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute respiratory distress syndrome and sleep apnea.

If you find it difficult to breathe or sleep, our pulmonary (lung) specialists can help. We offer education, exercises, and treatments like:

• Oxygen therapy to help you stay active and breathe better
• Pulmonary rehabilitation to build your strength and increase lung capacity
• Healthy diets to help you manage your weight and improve energy
• Strategies to help you increase your feelings of control, optimism, and self-esteem
• Tests to measure your lung function, lung volume, and blood gas

The radiation oncology service works with your health care team to target cancer safely and precisely using radiation therapy.

Radiation oncologists specialize in using high-energy radiation to kill or damage cancer cells and either destroy tumors or control their growth. Our doctors sometimes use radiation therapy in combination with surgery, chemotherapy, or other cancer treatments. The radiation therapy you receive will depend on cancer type, tumor size and location, and your general health. Our services include:

• Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), which uses computers to deliver precise radiation doses that match the 3D shape of your tumor
• Intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), which uses targeted radiation to treat a brain tumor or lesion while minimizing radiation effects on healthy brain tissue
• Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), which uses precisely focused radiation to treat tumors in your lungs, spine, liver, lymph nodes, or other soft tissues
• Low-dose rate definitive and salvage brachytherapy, which use low doses of radiation to treat prostrate cancer
• Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), which uses detailed images to help focus radiation on affected areas, improve outcomes, and shorten treatment

We offer radiology and imaging services to diagnose and treat many medical conditions. Our services include:

• X-ray *
• Ultrasound
• Mammography (mammograms)
• Computer tomography (CT)
• Positron emission tomography (PET)

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

  * Only X-ray is available at John H. Bradley VA in Appleton.

We offer a wide range of activities (arts and crafts, games, sports, exercise) that we can adapt to your needs.

Our therapies promote your independence and enhance your health and well-being if you’re a Veteran with an injury, chronic (long-lasting) illness, or disabling condition. After your primary health care provider gives you a referral, a recreation therapist will develop treatment goals for you.

• Recreation and creative arts therapy provides services and activities that include:
• Animal interaction
• Music, art, and crafts
• Community outings
• Exercise, sports, and games
• Gardening and leisure education

If you were exposed to toxic chemicals or other hazards during your military service, we offer you a free exam. This exam helps you identify potential health risks and helps us monitor issues so we can better serve you.

This free, voluntary, and comprehensive health exam involves an exposure and medical history, laboratory tests, and a physical exam. We will discuss your results in a face-to-face meeting and follow up with a letter. The registry evaluation, which does not verify exposure, is separate from VA's disability compensation process. You may be eligible to participate in one or more of these health registries if you served during these time periods:

• Ionizing radiation (1940s to 1960s)
• Agent Orange (1960s and 1970s)
• Airborne hazards and open burn pit (1990s to present)
• Gulf War (1990s to present)
• Depleted uranium (DU) (1990s to present)
• Toxic embedded fragments/shrapnel (2000s to present)

Learn more about VA Health Registry

We provide long-term care to help you and your family when you’re dealing with a disability, chronic (long-lasting) illness, terminal illness, or serious health issues related to aging. Our long-term health care services include:

• 24/7 nursing and medical care
• Physical therapy
• Help with daily tasks like bathing, dressing, making meals and taking medicine
• Pain management and palliative care to relieve suffering and improve quality of life for people with serious illnesses
• Hospice care to provide comfort and compassionate care for people in the last phases of an incurable illness
• Comprehensive Integrated Inpatient Rehab Program, designed to equip you with the skills you need to live as independently outside of the hospital as  your injury or disease allows. Learn more here.

To learn more about the different types of extended care that VA provides, see our guide to long-term services and support: Learn more about VA long-term care

If you’re returning from military service, we can help you readjust to civilian life and get started with VA health care. We can also help connect you with programs like mental health services and education and career counseling.

We can help you readjust to civilian life if you’re returning from military service, on active duty, or an activated National Guard or Reserve member. Talk to one of our care coordinators about how to best use your health care benefits.

• Polytrauma care (if you have multiple traumatic injuries)
• Counseling and rehabilitation
• Mental and behavioral health services
• Family benefits counseling and assistance
• Referral assistance

Learn more and connect with a coordinator

Our doctors treat inflammation, stiffness, or pain in your muscles, joints, and tendons. Common rheumatic illnesses include:

• Juvenile idiopathic and infectious arthritis
• Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Lupus
• Gout
• Scleroderma

The sleep medicine service diagnoses and treats your sleep problems, including trouble sleeping, breathing difficulties while sleeping, snoring, teeth grinding and jaw clenching.

At various points in our lives, all of us suffer from a lack of sleep. But, if you are spending enough time in bed and still wake up tired or feel very sleepy during the day, you may have a sleep disorder. We can help. Our sleep specialists can:

• Diagnose and treat sleep apnea and other sleep disorders.
• Monitor your blood oxygen levels and heart rate.
• Study your brain waves during sleep.
• Evaluate possible causes for your excessive sleepiness.
• Conduct sleep tests performed at home or in the lab.
• Work with your doctors if you need surgery or dental appliances to help you get a good night’s sleep.

If you are trying to quit smoking or want to stop using tobacco, we can help you with support, resources and programs.

You can quit smoking or chewing tobacco. Our goal is to provide support and strategies to add to optional nicotine replacement therapy prescribed by your primary care doctor. These include:

• FDA-approved medications to manage nicotine withdrawal and the urge to smoke.
• Counseling in person or by phone.
• Tobacco Cessation Quitline for individual counseling and strategies.
• SmokefreeVET text message program for daily advice and interactive support.
• Stay Quit Coach mobile app to help you quit smoking and stay smoke-free.

Social work is integral to health care. We can help you and your family manage stress-related problems due to injury or illness, and find VA community resources to meet your needs like:

• Home health services
• Legal services
• Transportation
• Community living

If you have a spinal cord injury or disorder, our specialists provide coordinated care throughout your life. We work to help you achieve your goals for independence, productivity and quality of life.

VA has the nation’s largest system of care for spinal cord injuries and disorders. We provide a convenient, connected network of experts to care for you during each phase of your life. Our experienced primary care providers are trained to check for problems unique to spinal cord injuries.

• Pressure ulcers
• Pneumonia
• Blood clots
• Bladder and sexual issues
• Constipation and other gastrointestinal problems
• Sexual issues

Learn more about the VA spinal cord injuries and disorders care system

Learn more about the inpatient rehabilitation and home care programs offered by the Milwaukee VA.

We work with behavioral health providers and community organizations to help you and your family during times of crisis. We offer:

• Suicide prevention care coordinators
• Suicide prevention case managers
• Gun safety locks

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator

If you are having surgery, we make sure that your procedure and follow-up care are safe and high-quality.

We provide a wide range of surgical services, like:

• General surgery
• Anesthesia
• Cardiac surgery (heart and major blood vessels)
• Neurosurgery (brain, spinal column, and nerves)
• Orthopedic surgery (bones, muscles, ligaments, joints, and tendons)
• Organ and tissue transplants

If your cancer requires surgery, the surgical oncology service works with your health care team to give expert diagnosis and treatment.

Our surgical oncologists are specially trained to treat many different cancers, like liver, pancreatic, gastric (stomach), colon (intestinal) and rectal cancers. They can:

• Diagnose your cancer after taking a small tissue sample (biopsy) .
• Stage your cancer by determining the tumor size and if it has spread (metastasized) to other parts of your body.
• Treat your cancer by removing and reducing tumors or other diseased tissues.
• Perform palliative surgery to help control your pain and manage side effects from other treatments, like chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

We use the latest in secure digital technology to set up remote visits with our health care providers. We offer video conferencing, home telehealth services, and store-and-forward telehealth that lets you securely send your health information to experts at VA facilities. We offer telehealth visits with providers in:

• Mental health
• Retinal care (eye)
• Bariatric surgery (visit remotely with your weight-loss surgery team before and after your operation)
• Dermatology
• Rehabilitation
• Primary care

Learn more about telehealth

We perform chest surgery (also known as thoracic surgery) to treats conditions involving your chest, airway and esophagus.

Our thoracic surgeons provide state-of-the-art surgical techniques and cancer therapies that focus on your lungs and other organs of the chest. Many of our thoracic treatments also address problems with your esophagus (the tube that connects your mouth and stomach), your trachea (airway), and your chest wall (rib cage and breastbone). We treat a variety of conditions that include:

• Lung cancer and cancer of the esophagus.
• Benign chest and lung tumors.
• Pleural illnesses, like pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and infections of the pleura (the thin membrane that lines the chest wall and covers the lungs).
• Achalasia, which occurs when nerve damage prevents your esophagus from pushing food into your stomach).
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or acid reflux, which occurs when stomach acid frequently flows back into your esophagus and irritates the lining.
• Diseases of the thymus, a small organ beneath your breastbone that produces cells that support your immune system and fight cancer.

All Veterans enrolled in VA health care can receive a toxic exposure screening at an upcoming appointment or sooner by contacting a Toxic Exposure Screening Navigator. All enrolled Veterans should receive the screening at least once every five years.

Learn more about Toxic Exposure Screening.

Available at these locations

Milwaukee VA Medical Center

Green Bay VA Clinic

Appleton VA Clinic

Cleveland VA Clinic

Union Grove VA Clinic

We are experts in life-saving transplants, including kidney, liver, heart, lung, small bowel, bone marrow and stem cell.

VA's transplant surgeons work to save or extend lives by transplanting healthy, fully functioning organs from living or deceased donors to patients who need one. Milwaukee VA will provide prep work for transplant, the surgery is performed at another VA:

• Liver transplants
• Kidney transplants
• Referrals to other transplant centers

If you're traveling for VA-approved care, we can repay you for the cost of using regular transportation that includes cars, planes, trains, buses, taxis, rideshare or light rail. You may also be eligible for repayment when using ambulances, wheelchair vans or ambulettes (non-emergency medical transportation).

• Round-trip transportation services between your home and our hospital and clinics (beneficiary travel)
• Mileage reimbursement debit cards

Learn more about VA travel pay reimbursement

Learn more about the Beneficiary Travel Self-Service System.

We evaluate, diagnose, and treat a wide range of urology diseases and conditions that include kidney stones, erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, prostate cancer, and more. We provide you with medical care, surgery, and minimally invasive procedures for health issues that affect:

• Kidneys
• Bladder
• Ureter and urethra
• Male reproductive organs

Our expert team diagnoses and treats diseases and conditions that affect arteries, veins and blood circulation.

Our vascular surgeons treat illnesses of your arteries and veins. Our surgeons can treat these problems with medication and exercise. Vascular illness causes include:

• Arteriosclerosis and/or atherosclerosis (caused by the buildup of plaque in your arteries that restricts blood flow to your organs and tissues)
• Aortic aneurysm and aortic valve disease
• Deep vein thrombosis and blockage by a blood clot or fatty deposit
• Varicose veins
• Vasculitis (inflammation of your blood vessels)
• Varicose veins
• Trauma or injury

We help Veterans with physical and mental health challenges find and keep jobs. We help you find jobs through our long-term partnerships with business, industry, and government agencies. We offer 3 services:

• Our transitional work program matches Veteran’s skills with a specific job and provides supervision to help them gain work experience
• Our supported employment program provides long-term support for Veterans with serious mental illnesses or physical disabilities to help them compete for jobs in their communities
• Our vocational assistance program trains Veterans living at our residential facility to improve their job-search and career development skills

Learn more about VA vocational rehabilitation

We provide support and assistive devices, including wheelchairs, scooters, walkers and canes, to help you preserve and increase your mobility.

We train you in the proper use of your wheelchair or other mobility devices to increase your wellness and improve your quality of life. Our team works with you to:

• Optimize correct wheelchair seating and positioning.
• Achieve maximum function and independence.
• Promote good posture, breathing, digestion, and tissue health.
• Prevent complications and additional injuries.

Our whole health approach empowers and equips you to take charge of your health, well-being, and quality of life. Whole health goes beyond your illnesses, injuries, or disabilities, and focuses instead on your values, goals, and overall health. It includes self-care and health therapies along with conventional medical care. Our whole health program includes:

• Managing pain without drugs
• Meditation and mindfulness training
• Yoga, tai chi, and qi gong classes
   

Learn more about VA whole health

Whole Health calendar

The Milwaukee VA Health Care System offers a variety of Whole Health and Well-Being classes for enrolled Veterans.

For the full list of classes, click here.

Millennium Wellness

The Milwaukee VA Health Care System offers unlimited access to live interactive virtual whole health classes. 

For additional information and registration information, click here.

We offer women’s health services to meet your specific needs such as disease screenings, mental health treatment, recovery from military sexual trauma, maternity care and female-specific medical equipment.

Our women's health program offers complete health care for women Veterans of all ages. Our primary care providers specialize in women’s health. They work closely with specialists in gynecology, obstetrics, female urology, oncology, medicine, radiology, surgery, and breast illness. Our services for women Veterans include:

• Ultrasounds, mammograms, Pap and HPV tests
• Mental health care and counseling
• Lifestyle wellness services
• Menopause treatment, including hormonal therapy
• Family planning, contraceptive care, and infertility evaluation

Learn more and connect with the Women Veterans Program Manager.

Check out the Women's Health Newsletter.

We provide thoughtful, compassionate diagnosis and treatment for Veterans with acute or chronic wounds or those who need ostomy care.

Healing your wounds is an important step in your recovery and rehabilitation. Our wound care team will assess your wound, determine where you are in the healing process, and provide a treatment plan for your care. If you’ve had ostomy surgery and are living with either a temporary or permanent stoma (a surgical opening to allow urine, feces, or body fluids to exit your body), we can help you manage the care of your stoma, make good product choices, and cope with the effects of ostomy surgery. We provide care and support for:

• Open, non-healing, and hard-to-heal wounds
• Localized incisions and infected or draining wounds
• Bedsores (also known as pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers)
• Amputations
• Wounds or leaking seals around your stoma
• Skin rashes