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Minneapolis VA Health Care System top stories.

  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, visited the Minneapolis VA Medical Center on Tuesday, May 13.

    Secretary of the VA Doug Collins, dressed in a blue suit, addresses a group of executive leaders in the entryway of the VA Minneapolis Medical Center

  • “I rarely use the word hate, but I hate cancer war metaphors. Fighting cancer. A long battle with cancer,” reads Tony Tovsen from notes he has taken on a phone. Capturing thoughts about his cancer journey is something he calls ‘clearing the junk out of his head.’

    Tony Tovsen, dressed in a blue pullover sweater and gray pants, sits with his doctor in a mostly beige room.

  • "I am thankful for all of the staff that work with Veterans like me.”

    56-year-old Navy Veteran, Steven Fedor stands at the Minneapolis VA amputation clinic

  • Over the past five years, the Minneapolis VA Medical Center has expanded its care for Veterans with Parkinson’s Disease and other movement disorders with the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Program, and the implementation of a successful Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) program.

    Man in medical scrubs wearing a mask and headgear. He is looking at a patient's vitals. Two scans of the patient's brain are in the background.

  • Michael Marshall enlisted in the Navy in 1969 with his eyes on becoming a hospital corpsman.

    Man stands in the middle of a hospital hallway, wearing a checkered shirt, blue jacket and black glasses. On either side of him are his care team.

  • Congratulations to Scott Plaisance, our latest Volunteer of the Month. Plaisance, an Army Veteran, was stationed in South Carolina, Georgia, Germany and finished his service at Fort Hood, Texas in 1984. The VA was always in the back of his mind, so after retirement, he started volunteering in 2022.

    Man in a gray sweatshirt sits at a blue table with his fingers intertwined

  • “My name is Jose Garcia, a 24-year U.S. Air Force disabled veteran, VA employee and a multiple sclerosis patient. When I was diagnosed with MS in April 2000, I was still able to walk and still on active duty. In the beginning, I was in denial. Twenty-five years later, I am in a wheelchair.”

    A U.S. Airforce Veteran sits in his wheelchair in a hallway. He's wearing a dark jacket and gray pants. On both sides of him stand VA nurses.

  • Raoul Schander, age 78, clutched a letter in his hands as he laid on the hospital bed preparing for transport to prep for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. As the surgeon greeted him, Schander handed him the letter and asked that he share it with the whole team.

    Raoul Schander and his bypass surgery team pose for two photos

  • The Minneapolis VA Health Care System has 13 Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In 2023, these clinics added more services so Veterans can get specialized care right at their local VA. One of these new services is cardiology.

    Marine Veteran Robert Cosmero and the cardiologist nurses at the Twin Ports CBOC

  • Imagine, if you will, being in a large convention center where Veterans are playing basketball in one corner, softball and pickleball in another, shooting air pistols and throwing cornhole bags all at the same time.

    Veterans from the Minnesota wheelchair team taking aim with their bows.