Stories | VA Minneapolis Health Care

"I don't use the word life-changing very often, but this device has opened up areas in my life that were completely closed. I can walk again, I can hug my loved one’s heart-to-heart, and it really has enhanced my day-to-day life."

four people, one wearing an exoskeleton, and a dog are standing in a row in front of a beige building

“It’s the right thing to do. If it’s going to help one person, it’s worth it. It’s worth my time, it’s worth everything.”

person with short hair and glasses wearing a dark sweatshirt, large columns and the American flag in the background

It’s never too late for Veterans to enjoy the benefits of quitting smokeless tobacco, like better health and a brighter smile. VA treatment and resources can help.

Great American Spitout person with gray bear wearing a Army baseball cap on their head and a plaid shirt, inside a yellow circle with blue background

"I am grateful for my whole life, my parents, aunts, uncles, God, all my friends, and I would do it all over again."

Here we are — another year. Another chance to decide what really matters in your life!

graphic with two people wearing dark clothing sitting together and text that reads

More than 150 people squished into a conference room or joined virtually for Dr. Michael D. Levitt’s final Grand Rounds: “A Career in Review and Celebration” at the Minneapolis VA on Dec. 1, 2023.

Portrait of Dr. Michael D. Levitt. A person with short gray hair, wearing a gray suit in front a gold, black, and white balloons.

When you stop smoking, you feel the benefits almost immediately, no matter how long you’ve smoked.

“We have this great privilege to be able to educate our future and really shape who they become as providers and role model the importance of the highest quality of care…where we ensure the very highest quality and maintain patient safety for our Veterans,” said Joanne Donnelly.

Group of people posing for the camera, wearing blue hospital scrubs in a clinical room

Minneapolis VA is leading the way in stroke care for Veterans. It is the first Veteran’s hospital to provide state-of-the-art stroke care on two major fronts: 1.) Stroke reversing using the clot busting medication Tenecteplase and 2.) Providing TeleStroke care via the VA National TeleStroke Program.

photo of a patient laying in a hospital bed facing away from the viewer. They are looking at a screen with a doctor's face. A technician is beside the patients bed looking at the screen.

"My first step was one inch. It was one step to one more step."