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About us

At the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Healthcare System, we’re dedicated to improving the lives of Veterans and their families.

About VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Healthcare System 

The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Healthcare System provides you with outstanding health care, trains America’s future health care providers, and conducts important medical research.

Health care and services

We provide you with health care services at 9 locations in Nebraska and western Iowa. Facilities include our Omaha VA Medical Center and Grand Island VA Medical Center. We also have 7 community-based outpatient clinics in Bellevue, Holdrege, Lincoln, Norfolk, Omaha, and North Platte, Nebraska; and Shenandoah, Iowa. To learn more about the services each location offers, and the services our mobile clinic provides, visit the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa health services page

The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the Midwest VA Health Care Network. We’re an innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 23 (VISN 23), which includes medical centers and clinics in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Learn more about VISN 23

Research and development

At the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System,  we conduct research to discover knowledge, develop VA scientists and health care leaders, and create innovations that advance health care for Veterans and the nation. We offer Veterans the opportunity to participate in and benefit from our work. Our goal is to use research to promote better health and health care for all.

For more than 60 years, the Omaha VA Medical Center has been serving Veterans by conducting clinical, human, and animal research. Today, about 60 principal investigators and more than 400 research personnel from the VA and its academic partners are conducting about 160 studies at our medical center.

Major research areas include:

  • Alcohol and addictive disorders
  • Obesity and Type II diabetes mellitus
  • Rheumatology and immunology
  • Mental health
  • Liver disease
  • Pulmonary airway inflammation and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Infectious diseases
  • Orthopedic rehabilitation
  • Surgical wound healing
  • Cancer treatment
  • Reproductive endocrinology (fertility research)
  • Vascular (artery and vein) diseases
  • Dental prosthetics
  • Quality of care and patient safety

Teaching and learning

Our Omaha VA Medical Center is a teaching hospital that provides a full range of inpatient, residential, vocational, and outpatient services, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research.  Our interns and residents receive training in many specialties and subspecialties, including pharmacy and psychology.   We also have a nurse practitioner residency program in primary care, and we offer associated training in a variety of other health care professions.

VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Healthcare System has affiliations with the University of Nebraska, Creighton University, and many other universities and professional schools throughout the United States.  We’re proud of our partnerships with top institutions and organizations that support the educational mission of the VA.

Fast facts

  • We serve a Veteran population of about 161,000 in 101 counties across Nebraska, western Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.
  • Our service area covers more than 58,000 square miles.

Accreditations and achievements

Our facilities and programs have received accreditation from:

  • The Joint Commission
  • American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
  • Pathway Designated Organization
  • American Psychological Association