PVAHCS Reaches out to Veteran's in Rural Communities
The Phoenix VA Health Care System reached out to the rural towns of Overgaard and Show Low, to increase awareness of the clinics in those areas, March 8 -9.
The PVAHCS has clinics in Overgaard and Show Low, providing a wide variety of services. The event was to showcase and bring attention to them.
“It’s important to show the rural communities what we have to provide,” said Shawndin Tracy, PVAHCS Rural Health Coordinator. “They need to know that we’re here for them, and that we value them.”
The services offered are VA health care benefits eligibility and enrollment, Veterans’ Benefit Administration PACT Act claims, suicide prevention, women Veterans’ program, social work, homeless programs, caregiver support program and community care.
Michael J. Welsh, Phoenix VHA Deputy Medical Director, attended and talked about how important it is to reach out to the remote parts of Arizona.
“Phoenix VA is really focused on the more urban areas, so we’ve never really done a great job getting to our rural veterans,” said Welsh. “Our big goal is to push into these areas where they live. The big thing is to show the veteran’s that we exist in these locations. We got the opportunity to bring vaccinations here, and we’re also doing toxin screenings, because a lot of Veterans don’t quite understand their exposure to toxins. So, we’re just trying to get them the service they deserve.”
For more information about the clinics, please visit https://www.va.gov/directory/guide/state.asp?dnum=ALL&STATE=AZ.