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About us

At the VA North Florida/South Georgia Health System, we’re dedicated to improving the lives of Veterans, caregivers, and their families every day.

About VA North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System

The VA North Florida/South Georgia Health 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 26 locations serving a 50-county region in northern Florida and southern Georgia. Facilities include our Malcom Randall VA Medical Center in Gainesville,  and our  Lake City VA Medical Center in Lake City. We also have 3 multi-specialty outpatient clinics in Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and The Villages, Florida; and community-based outpatient clinics in  Lake City, Marianna, Middleburg, Ocala, Palatka, Perry, and St. Augustine, Florida; and St. Marys, Valdosta, and Waycross, Georgia. To learn more about the services each location offers, visit the VA North Florida/South Georgia health services page

The VA North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the VA Sunshine Health Care Network. We’re an innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 8 (VISN 8), which includes medical centers and clinics in Florida, Georgia, and the Caribbean. 

Learn more about VISN 8

Research and development

The VA conducts research to discover knowledge, develop VA scientists and health care leaders, and create innovations that advance health care for Veterans and the nation. Veterans and in some cases non-Veterans can participate in VA research studies. The goal of VA research is to promote better health and health care for all.

There are three research centers within the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, and many of the scientists who work in these centers have joint appointments with the University of Florida, which is the Malcom Randall VAMC university affiliate:

  • RR&D Brain Rehabilitation Research Center (BRRC): Located at the Malcom Randall VAMC, interdisciplinary teams of scientists at the BRRC conduct research to advance treatments that help restore impairments caused by neurologic diseases and injuries such as stroke, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury.
  • Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC): At the Malcom Randall VAMC, GRECC teams of scientists and clinicians conduct research on and test new models of clinical care to improve health, safety, and quality of life for older Veterans and their caregivers
  • Veterans Rural Health Resource Center at Gainesville (VRHRC-GVN):  An Office of Rural Health (ORH) field-based satellite office hosted at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, the VRHRC-GNV serves as a hub of rural health care research, innovation, and dissemination in the areas of independent living for rural Veterans and rural workforce recruitment/retention/education.

Teaching and learning

Our medical centers are general medicine and surgery teaching hospitals that provide a full range of health services for Veterans, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research. Our primary affiliation is with the University of Florida, with whom we provide training to more than 180 medical school residents, interns, and students each year in the fields of dentistry, nursing, physical therapy, health services administration, and pharmacy.
 
We also have affiliations with Florida State University, Valdosta State University, Santa Fe College, and Florida Gateway College for programs in nursing, social work, physical therapy, medical technology, and health care administration. We’re proud of our partnerships with top institutions and organizations that support the educational mission of the VA.
 
We offer residencies in:

  • Dental general practice
  • Pharmacy
  • Physical therapy
  • Post Baccalaureate Registered Nurse 
  • Primary Care Optometry
  • Psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners
  • Psychology

Fast facts

  • The VA North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System is the largest VA health care system in the country, with two medical centers, a 45 bed Domiciliary, three large multi-specialty outpatient clinics, and nine community-based outpatient clinics spanning 40,000 square miles. 
  • In 2021, we served 176,915 Veterans and completed 1.9 million outpatient visits. 
  • The System provides a wide array of services to include primary care, tertiary care, specialty care in open heart surgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, home based primary care, mental health intensive care management, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and telehealth. 
  • We recently opened a new clinic in Ocala, FL; with additional clinics under construction to include  a new Jacksonville Outpatient Clinic and 30 Bed Domiciliary and a Primary Care/Mental Health facility in Gainesville, FL.  
  • In 2021, we employed more than 5,800 medical and support staff. Thirty-two percent of our employees were Veterans. We provided training and supervision to over 2,300 residents, fellows, and students through academic affiliations with over 200 educational institutions. 
  • NF/SGVHS strives to foster a culture of quality, safety, and value by championing system redesign improvement projects to improve throughput, increase efficiency, and improve quality of care. The health system promotes innovation by becoming recognized as one of 33 VA’s Center for Innovation. 
  • NF/SGVHS Local initiatives focus on improving care and the Veteran’s experience. Our  plans include investing in training for workforce succession planning, establishing open lines of communication to improve accountability and timely decision making, and creating an environment that fosters collaboration among employees and all community partners. 

Accreditation 

Our facilities and programs have received accreditation from:

  • The Joint Commission
  • Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities
  • Ascellon Corp (Long-term Care Survey)
  • American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics
  • Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animals- AAALAC
  • American Accreditation of Blood Banks AABB
  • Council of Dental Accreditation
  • The Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education
  • American Society of Health System Pharmacists
  • American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education
  • American Psychological Association
  • Accreditation Council on Optometric Education

Annual reports, newsletters/magazines

Annual Reports - North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System 

Annual Reports - VISN 8

Newsletters

Veterans Health Matters Magazine