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About us

At VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, we have a history of improving Veterans' lives.

About the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Among the most innovative and forward-looking in the nation, the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) provides exceptional health care to our nation’s Veterans, trains America’s future health care providers, and conducts research that contributes to medical advancements.

Health care and services

Our eight sites of care include two campuses in Pittsburgh and six community-based outpatient clinics. To learn more about the services each VAPHS location offers, visit the VA Pittsburgh healthcare page.

VAPHS is the largest and most complex VA health care system in Pennsylvania. We’re a highly specialized care referral center for the Veterans Integrated Service Network 4 (VISN 4), which includes medical centers in Altoona, Butler, Coatesville, Erie, Lebanon, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Wilkes-Barre in Pennsylvania; Wilmington in Delaware; and 46 VA outpatient clinics in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. Learn more about VISN 4.

Research and development

VAPHS is home to four VA Research Centers that fuel research and clinical collaboration across the VA ecosystem and beyond.

We also partner with UPMC, University of Pittsburgh, and other educational organizations.

VAPHS-affiliated researchers pioneered organ transplant surgery, harnessed brain waves to move robotic arms, expedited the approval process of quick-cure hepatitis C drugs, and developed lightweight aluminum wheelchairs that are now the VA standard. Learn more about VA research initiatives.

Teaching and learning

We’re uniquely positioned in the health care delivery, academic, and research worlds, and we use our strengths and partnerships to improve medicine for all Americans.

Our primary academic affiliate is the University of Pittsburgh. Each year, we welcome hundreds of interns, residents, and fellows from the university and through other academic affiliation agreements. We’re also affiliated with hundreds of associated health educational programs in fields such as nursing, clinical pastoral care, pharmacy, and more.

We maintain a respected presence in the continuing education of VA health care professionals nationwide. Ours is one of only a few VA facilities that holds advanced-level certification in the Simulation, Learning, Education, and Research Network (SimLEARN). Its state-of-the-art Simulation Center, which opened in 2018, has expanded learning opportunities for VA employees. Current simulation-based trainings focus on scenarios that health care professionals encounter; these include mental health emergencies, code response, and inpatient suicide attempts (with plans to expand suicide-prevention scenarios).

Fast Facts

  • 93,086  Veterans served: 84,383 men, 8,703  women
  • 13-county service area
  • $1.2B budget, including $153M  paid to non-VA providers for Veterans’ care
  • 3,890 employees in clinical, administrative and facilities roles
    • 1,104  nurses
    • 331 physicians
    • 885 Veterans
  • 859,584  outpatient visits
  • 10,622 admissions
  • 5,548  surgeries including 50 kidney and 11 liver transplants
  • 149,115  telehealth encounters: 65,284 mental health, 2,600  primary care, 81,231  specialty and other care
  • 222 regularly scheduled volunteers and 369 occasional volunteers; 30,624 total volunteer hours and $529,742.01 in donations
  • $23,782,410  in research funding, 229 investigators, 352 projects
  • 226 academic affiliations

*All figures for fiscal year 2025.

Water Safety Reporting

VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System is committed to providing safe, high-quality water to everyone who uses our facilities. Learn more about our water quality monitoring and reporting efforts. 

VAPHS also publishes monthly reports on Legionella water test results. Learn more about how we monitor and control Legionella. 

Annual reports and newsletters

Annual reports

Newsletters

VA Healthcare-VISN 4

Newsletter

Get the latest news from VISN 4 in our Vision for Excellence newsletter and learn how we are improving access to care and earning Veterans' trust.

Annual Report

Read the latest VISN 4 annual report for news about the many accomplishments across our network and what we have been doing to provide excellent care for Veterans.

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