Stories
Read about what's happening in our VA Pittsburgh health care community.
‘Everything Usually Comes Back to Respect’ for LGBT+ Veteran Care
As we say goodbye to Pride Month 2020, we’d like to share this in-depth Q&A with our outgoing* LGBT Veteran care coordinator (VCC), Sarah Merlina.

VAPHS Foreman Fights COVID-19 in New Jersey
Navy Veteran Mary Johnson faced one of the biggest challenges of her six-year career with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) when she volunteered to help a demoralized nursing home staff get back on its feet and save Veterans' lives during the coronavirus pandemic.

VA Staff Volunteers Help Veterans, Others with Spinal Cord Injuries During Pandemic
Thanks to individual grants and Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL) volunteers, Pittsburgh area Veterans and others with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are safely getting food and personal hygiene items during the coronavirus pandemic.

“You Made My Year” – New Process Improves Prosthetics Rehab Wait Time
Standing eye to eye for the first time ever with his VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System prosthetist, Marine Corps Veteran Ronald Slaughter exclaimed, “You just made my year and it’s only April!”

VA Pittsburgh Creates First Dialysis Program for Long-Term Care Unit
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System in April created a dialysis program at its community living center (CLC) to safeguard Veterans against exposure to the coronavirus.

Donations Connect Families Via Video Calls
Veterans who receive care at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System can now visit family and loved ones safely using video calls. The video calls were made possible partly thanks to the generosity of a McKees Rocks charity and the American Legion Auxiliary.

Sim Educator’s MacGyver-Inspired Training Props Conserve Critical Resources
Though not dodging bullets, bombs or bad guys like Angus “Mac” MacGyver of TV legend before him, Jose Perez saw a need for something and invented it.

VA Volunteer and Vietnam Veteran Recalls Dog Handling Days
PITTSBURGH -- It’s been more than four years since volunteer and Vietnam Veteran Edward McClouds walked into VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System’s Oakland hospital and sensed it was where he needed to be.

Jake Notovitz going strong at 92
Over at least the last quarter century, volunteer Jacob (Jake) Notovitz of Wilkinsburg has been as much a fixture at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System as the flags flying over each of the medical center's two main campuses.

VA’s End Harassment Campaign Presented at Pitt
A Louisiana-based Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) physician spoke to private health care providers in September at Montefiore Hospital about VA’s campaign to end gender-based harassment in health care.
