About us

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 seven sites of care include two medical centers (hospitals) and five 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 44 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.

• The Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP)
• The Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC)
• The Human Engineering Research Laboratory (HERL)
• The Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)

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. The partnership began 40 years ago and has grown during the last 20. Each year, we welcome 550 interns, residents, and fellows from the university. 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

• 84,910 unique Veterans served: 74,516 men, 10,393 women*
• 13-county service area
• $927.1 million budget allocation: $689.2M medical, $104.4M Care in the Community, $69M facilities, $64.5M administration
• $31.3 million in dedicated collections revenue from third party private insurance, co-pays, etc.
• 4,395 employees in clinical, administrative and facilities roles
  • 1,084 nurses
  • 313 physicians
  • 1,126 Veterans
• Two main campuses
  • University Drive, Oakland: medicine, surgery, critical care and neurology; liver and renal transplant referral center; cardiac surgery, bariatric and oncology services; National Centers of Excellence for renal, dialysis and women Veterans health care; Fisher House; Research Office Building
  • H.J. Heinz III, O’Hara Township (near Aspinwall): Community Living Center, Veterans Recovery Center, ambulatory care, speech and pathology services
• 500 inpatient beds
  • University Drive: 87 medicine, 78 psychiatry, 59 surgical
  • H.J. Heinz III: 188 Community Living Center, 88 Veterans Recovery Center
• Five VA outpatient clinics and three Vet Centers
• $92 million VA outpatient clinic to open in 2023 in Monroeville, Allegheny County
• 753,245 outpatient visits, 7,095 admissions, 5,895 surgeries including 29 kidney and 24 liver transplants
• 89,128 women Veteran appointments, 824 mammograms, 54 expecting moms served, 265 newly enrolled women Veterans
• 89,247 telehealth visits; 57,739 telemental health encounters; 80,540 VA Video Connect appointments; 103,817 specialty encounters.
• 239 volunteers, 27,661 volunteer hours, $464,020 in donations
• $15.5 million in research funding, 133 investigators, 373 projects
• 13 accreditations
• 226 academic affiliations

*All figures for fiscal year 2022.

Accreditation and reporting

Health care provider accreditation

We’re committed to delivering high-quality services to the Veterans we serve, and we’re equally committed to maintaining high-quality business practices.

We’re proud to demonstrate this commitment by achieving CARF accreditation for the following programs and services:

• Intensive Rehab Program (IRP)
• Interdisciplinary Pain Rehab Program (IPRP)
• Intermediate Low Vision Clinic

CARF-accredited programs conform to internationally recognized standards for service delivery and demonstrate their commitment to continuous quality improvement and focus on consumers.

Through accreditation, providers demonstrate their belief that all people have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, have access to needed services that achieve optimum outcomes, and are empowered to exercise informed choice.

CARF International is an independent, nonprofit accreditor of health and human services providers. CARF assists service providers in improving the quality of their services by applying sets of quality standards during an on-site survey.

For more information about CARF International, the standards, or the survey process, visit www.carf.org.

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

VAPHS Health Dispatch email newsletters

Virtual wellness and fitness classes; Jobs board (1/12/2023)

Department 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.