San Jose VA Clinic

We offer a variety of outpatient and inpatient services to Veterans to help them in their journey to recovery. Our residential facility provides 24-hour support, therapy, and education to Veterans who may be struggling with substance abuse, homelessness, mental health, or unemployment issues.

Programs include:

• Rehabilitation
• Health maintenance
• Community support

Learn more about our VA treatment programs

Our audiology clinical staff provide diagnostic and rehabilitative services, VA compensation and pension examinations, and screening for employee hearing conservation. We offer a full range of audiology services to include:

• Hearing and balance evaluations including ototoxic monitoring and auditory brain stem response testing
• Tinnitus management (ringing, buzzing, and/or noises in the ear)
• Hearing conservation
• Selection, evaluation, programming, and management of hearing aids, cochlear implants, bone-anchored implants, and assistive listening devices
• Aural rehabilitation for patients and family members
• Evaluation and treatment for central auditory processing disorder

Learn more about VA hearing aids

Our speech pathology clinical staff provide diagnostic and rehabilitative services. We offer a full range of speech pathology services to include:

• Swallowing disorders including GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disorder)
• Cognitive, memory, attention, visual/spatial deficits
• Executive functioning and problem solving management
• Speech, language, and articulation difficulties
• Voice deficits including gender-affirming therapy and voice restoration
• Stuttering therapy

Our speech pathologists commonly work with patients who have traumatic brain injuries, neurological conditions like ALS, MS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and stroke, head/neck cancer, as well as laryngectomee patients.

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:

• Comprehensive cardiovascular care including diagnosis and management of coronary artery disease, valvular and other structural heart disease, heart failure, and abnormal heart rhythms
• Cardiac imaging including echocardiography, MRI and CT coronary angiography and calcium scoring
• Women's heart clinic focused on diagnosing and treating heart disease specifically in our female Veterans
• Preventive cardiology clinic focused specifically on managing risk factors for heart disease such as cholesterol and blood pressure
• Advanced heart failure services including pre and post heart transplant management
• Interventional cardiology and structural heart procedures such as coronary angiography and stenting, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve repair/replacement, left atrial appendage closure, and ASD/PFO closure
• Complex heart rhythm procedures including ablations, pacemaker and defibrillator placement and lead extractions
• Other specialized programs such as aortic disease and amyloid cardiomyopathy clinics

Chiropractic care restores, improves, and maintains your function, activity, and health. We work with your primary care doctor and other specialty care providers to provide a complete health care plan for you. We offer many treatments, like:

• Spinal manipulative therapy to relieve pressure on your joints and reduce inflammation
• Electrical stimulation therapy, which reduces pain by sending mild electrical pulses through your skin to help stimulate injured muscles or manipulate nerves
• Soft-tissue mobilization, which uses gentle pressure or massage to relax tense muscles, reduce scar tissue, or stretch connective tissue
• Patient education and active rehabilitation

Instructional videos for patients

These video are for training purposes only. If you need additional instructions or have any concerns, please discontinue use and contact your provider as soon as possible. Please verify which device you were issued and follow the corresponding video below for instructions.

Intensity TWIN STIM III TENS-EMS unit instructions (video link)

Ultima5 TENS unit instructions (video link)

We provide care for many medical and surgical skin conditions. Our dermatology services include:

• Medically necessary treatments for skin conditions like skin cancer and rashes
• Specialized treatments for acute (short-term) and chronic (long-lasting) skin conditions, like psoriasis, eczema, warts, and fungal illnesses
• Evaluation, biopsy, and treatment of cancerous or pre-cancerous skin conditions, like abnormal moles and lesions.
• Referrals for complex conditions
• Teledermatology (a telehealth resource), which gives patients quick access to expert opinions

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

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

• HIV testing and treatment
• Medication (PEP) taken after potential exposure to HIV
• Diagnosis of viral hepatitis, acute or chronic
• Treatment of hepatitis B or C, if clinically indicated
• Monitoring of patient with inactive chronic hepatitis B
• Screening for hepatic fibrosis as a result of chronic viral hepatitis
• Specialty care referrals
• One-to-one patient education

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

• Immediate food and shelter, including both transitional and permanent housing
• Residential rehabilitation
• Job training, life skills development, and education
• Support with justice system navigation and community re-entry from jail
• Financial support to prevent homelessness
• Treatment for addiction and depression
• Health and dental care

Learn more

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

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 and specialty 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

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 like:

• 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

Our registered dietitians can help you stay healthy or become healthier. We offer nutrition advice and counseling in person, over the phone, or in a group setting that is tailored to your individual needs for the following topics:

• Cardiovascular and heart health
• Chronic kidney disease
• Diabetes (including gestational diabetes)
• Eating disorders and digestive health
• Pregnancy and postpartum nutrition
• Weight management

Our optometrists offer a variety of services and treatments for the eyes:

• 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
• Brain injury vision rehabilitative services for those dealing with vision issues due to head injuries and strokes
• Special eye exams for diabetic patients
• Medically indicated contact lenses

Our service deals with musculoskeletal problems of the arms and legs that may need surgery. These include fractures of bones, joint problems such as arthritis, injuries to tendons and ligaments, and orthopedic tumors in any location. Presently, spine problems are addressed by either physical medicine and rehabilitation (non-surgical) or neurosurgery (surgical). Hand problems are addressed by the Hand Service that is run by Plastic Surgery.

We personally see patients in Palo Alto, Livermore, San Jose, and Monterey. We also provide orthopedic consultations for Veterans in their own homes with VA telemedicine technology. Telemedicine visits can be done for Veterans in any location as long as they have a computer and an adequate internet connection.

Contact us

A consult from your primary care physician is required to schedule a clinic appointment. Our main number is 650-493-5000 ext. 66101.

Instructional videos for patients

Joint replacement surgery pre-op class (video link)
What to expect when having joint replacement surgery

Feedback survey / Question form

Total knee replacement at VA Palo Alto (video link)
What to expect when having total knee replacement surgery

Physical therapy after total knee replacement (video link)
Exercises you should do before and after surgery

Total hip replacement surgery at VA Palo Alto (video link)
How to prepare for surgery and what to expect before, during and after your hospitalization

Nerve block system regional anesthesia (video link)
Learn more about the procedure

Resources

• Total hip replacement (orthoinfo.org)
• Total knee replacement (orthoinfo.org)
• Other orthopedic injuries and surgeries (orthoinfo.org)

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.

Posttraumatic 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
• Treatment for co-occurring disorders (including addictive behaviors)
• PTSD Clinical Team (PCT) offering specialized outpatient treatment for PTSD
• Trauma Recovery Services (TRS), including:
  • PTSD Intensive Outpatient Program (PTSD-IOP)
  • Men’s Trauma Recovery Program (MTRP): Men’s residential treatment
  • Women’s Trauma Recovery Program (WTRP): Women’s residential treatment
• Services for Veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless
• Transition and care management for returning Veterans (OIF/OEF/OND)

Learn more about PTSD

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

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 and ankle health preventive care

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, like:

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

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 health care system and referred by a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician can receive a full range of services and equipment like:

• 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

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

Recreation and creative arts therapists provide non-traditional and innovative techniques that assist Veterans in reaching their treatment goals and obtaining improved health and quality of life. Our services include:

• Assess leisure functioning
• Develop programs based on assessed needs
• Implement and evaluate programs
• Discharge planning
• Community reintegration outings
• Public transportation education and utilization
• Community resource development
• Adaptive sports participation
• Evaluation of adaptive equipment
• Leisure education with Veterans and their families
• Water and land-based fitness and wellness programs
• Use of therapy dogs
• Art therapy
• Music therapy
• Massage therapy
• Stress management
• Relapse prevention
• Coping techniques

For any questions regarding our pools and fitness facilities at VA Palo Alto and Menlo Park, please call 650-493-5000, Palo Alto ext. 65531, or Menlo Park ext. 22841.

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

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. Our sleep specialists can help. Referrals can be discussed with your primary care provider.

We offer diagnostic testing, education, and treatments like:

• Group education classes at multiple locations that provide insight into common sleep disorders as well as classes focusing on sleep apnea
• Home sleep testing to diagnose sleep apnea by tracking your breathing, oxygen levels, and breathing effort
• Treatment of sleep apnea with positive airway pressure therapy (such as CPAP) along with necessary supplies, including masks and tubing
• Specialized respiratory therapist clinics (CPAP clinics) to maximize the effectiveness and comfort of CPAP, available either in person, over the phone, or by video visits
• Remote monitoring of CPAP data and remote adjustments to settings
• Individual clinics with nurse practitioners (NPs) and sleep physicians
• Coordination with other doctors if you need surgery, dental appliances, or additional specialty care 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:

• Our TeleQuit Program (650-493-5000, ext. 60557, or direct line 650-849-0557) to quit smoking or stop using nicotine products including cigarettes, vape, and smokeless tobacco. Patients may self-refer.
• 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

Learn more about how to quit

Social work is an important part of health care and overall well-being. 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:

• Relationship problems
• Managing the loss of a loved one
• Navigating benefits and VA
• Understanding available services
• Living safely at home
• How to support a loved one
• Housing, financial, transportation, and legal services
• Community living

Whole health centers around what matters to you, not what is the matter with you. This means working with you to develop a personalized health plan based on your values, needs, and goals. A plan that you and your health care team will use to guide and plan your care throughout your VA experience. Whole health integrates not only traditional clinical care, but helps to activate you on self-care skills and tools to keep you healthy and doing the things that work for you. In addition, whole health is helping to make more complementary and integrative health offerings available.

Call 650-849-0131 to speak with a Whole Health Coach today!

Well-being:

• Tai chi / Qi gong
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Guided imagery

Treatment

• Chiropractor and acupuncture
• Biofeedback
• Clinical hypnosis
• Massage therapy

View our whole health offerings

Learn more about VA whole health

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 comprehensive health care for women-identifying Veterans of all ages. Our women’s health primary care providers (WH-PCPs) specialize in meeting women’s health care needs at all primary care clinics throughout the health care system.

Women’s health primary care providers (WH-PCPs) with specialized training in women’s health are available at all of our sites. WH-PCPs work in collaboration with patient-aligned care teams (PACT) to provide gender-specific care (like Pap smears and reproductive health care including birth control, reproductive health counseling including abortion care, and menopause) as well as non-gender specific care from a woman’s lens (like diabetic & hypertensive care) across the lifespan.

There are also many specialty care services that may be interesting to women-identifying Veterans including but not limited to:

• Women’s health care across the lifespan care
• Pap smears
• Mammograms
• Gynecology
• Maternity care via community care
• Lactation support
• Infertility benefits
• Family planning and abortion care
• Pelvic floor dysfunction physical therapy
• Comprehensive pain clinic
• Oncology care
• Rheumatology
• Cardiology
• MOVE weight management classes
• Wellness classes (Tai chi, qigong, yoga)
• Psychology
• Peer support specialist (MST, alcohol/drug use, depression)
• Women’s Trauma Recovery Program for PTSD
• Military sexual trauma (MST) screening and support
• Intimate partner violence resources and safety planning
• Spinal cord injury care

Learn more and connect with a Women Veterans Program Manager