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About us

At the VA Salem Healthcare System, we’re dedicated to improving the lives of Veterans and their families.

About VA Salem Healthcare System 

The VA Salem Healthcare System provides you with outstanding health care, trains America’s future health care providers, and conducts important medical research.

Health care and services

We provide you with health care services at 6 locations in southwestern Virginia: our Salem VA Medical Center and 5 community-based outpatient clinics in Danville, Lynchburg, Staunton, Tazewell, and Wytheville, Virginia. To learn more about the services each location offers, visit the VA Salem health services page.

The VA Salem Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the Mid-Atlantic Region. We’re an innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 6 (VISN 6), which includes medical centers in North Carolina (Asheville, Durham, Fayetteville, and Salisbury) and Virginia (Hampton, Richmond, and Salem), and dozens of other health care facilities.

Learn more about VISN 6

Research and development

We conduct research to discover knowledge, develop VA scientists and health care leaders, and create innovations that advance health care for Veterans and the nation. We offer Veterans the opportunity to participate in and benefit from our work. Our goal is to use research to promote better health and health care for all.

Major research areas include:

  • Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
  • Diabetes
  • Asthma
  • Osteoporosis
  • Kidney disease
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Pneumonia
  • Atrial fibrillation
  • Dementia
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
  • Obesity
  • Depression
  • Substance abuse

Teaching and learning

As a teaching hospital, Salem VA Medical Center provides a full range of services, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research. Our medical center has 3 active medical school affiliations with the University of Virginia School of Medicine, the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.

We also play a major role in training nursing students through our affiliations with the University of Virginia, Radford University, Liberty University, Jefferson College of Health Sciences, Kaplan University, and Old Dominion University. 

We offer residency training in many major medical, mental health, and subspecialties. We also provide associated health training in psychology, optometry, social work, dietetics, and pharmacy.

Overall, we have more than 80 affiliations with colleges and universities. We’re proud of our partnerships with top institutions and organizations that support the educational mission of the VA.

Fast facts

  • Our medical center is a 242-bed teaching hospital that provides health care services to more than 78,000 eligible Veterans in an area that covers 26 counties, 13 independent cities, and 8,800 square miles in southwestern Virginia.
  • In 2018, we had 1,975 full-time employees in 2018 and served more than 37,000 Veterans.
  • Salem VA Medical Center and its clinics include 68 buildings with more than 1.2 million square feet of space.
  • In 2018, we had 92 active research studies that enhance our ability to provide state-of-the-art medical techniques and treatments.
  • More than 1,000 Associate Health and Nursing trainees rotate through Salem VA Medical Center every year.
  • When Salem VA Medical Center was first built, it was primarily a neuropsychiatric facility; it was also a working farm where patients raised cattle, hogs, and food as part of their therapy.

Accreditation and achievements

Our facilities and programs have received accreditation from:

  • The Joint Commission
  • The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities

The VA Salem Healthcare System received the following awards:

Coming soon!

Annual reports and newsletters

Annual reports

Newsletters