Primary Care

Also known as Primary Care Mental Health Integration

Our team of behavioral health specialists are psychologists, psychiatrists and nurse practitioners who work alongside your primary care team to support you when you need it. From helping you meet personal goals for improving your health to coping with grief, stress or insomnia, our team can offer personalized support for the challenges all of us may face at one time or another.

We can meet with you virtually or in person for 4-6 sessions. Appointments are usually 30 minutes long.

You may call us directly to schedule an appointment at or request a referral from anyone in your primary care team.

Below are common issues we can be helpful with:

• Adjusting to or coping with a chronic medical condition
• Anger management
• Anxiety
• Bereavement/grief
• Coaching you to meet a personal goal for your health and wellbeing
• Connecting you to mental health resources at VA and in the community 
• Chronic pain
• Communication enhancement
• Depression, low mood or boredom
• Diabetes management
• Keeping on track with your medications, appointments and/or treatment plan
• Memory challenges
• Mindfulness basics
• Relaxation enhancement (e.g., deep breathing, guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation)
• Sexual health/sex education
• Sleep concerns
• Stress management
• Substance use concerns
• Tobacco cessation
• Trauma symptoms
• Weight management

The pharmacist provider is a clinical pharmacy specialist who works with the PACT team to:

• Manage your chronic medical issues by prescribing and adjusting medications
• Answer medication related questions
• Review and discuss lab results, allergies and medications

What does the PACT pharmacist provider do during the appointment?

• Upon referral to this clinic by your PACT team, we work as part of your health care team
• Provide comprehensive disease management services, for example, diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure
• Prescribe medications and order labs
• Work with your PACT team to manage your care. Your PACT team consists of your provider, nurses, scheduler, pharmacist, dietician, social worker, behavioral health specialist, and more

What should I bring to my appointment?

• Most up-to-date medication list
• Bottles of prescription, over-the-counter (OTC), and herbal medicines
• Blood pressure readings (if appointment is for high blood pressure)
• Blood sugar monitor and readings (if appointment is for diabetes)

Location:

San Francisco VA Medical Center
4150 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94121
Building 200, 2nd floor

Hours:

Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Saturdays, 8:00 a.m. - Noon

We offer blood tests and other advanced testing services to help you and your VA health care team monitor your health, find and understand any health problems and make informed treatment decisions.

Care we provide at San Francisco VA Health Care System

Our laboratories provide a full range of clinical and diagnostic testing services. Our laboratory services include:

• Study of blood, urine, and other bodily fluids for illness management
• Testing for infectious diseases

San Francisco VA Musculoskeletal Clinic provides evaluation and non-surgical treatment of patients with injuries to joints and surrounding soft tissues, including shoulder, knee, hip, and hand/wrist/elbow problems. The clinic is located within Primary Care and is staffed by clinicians with expertise in joint evaluation and joint injection (steroid and hyaluronic acid) and by a physical therapist who initiates treatment protocols and or bracing/taping recommendations during the evaluation. Appointments to the clinic are made through referrals from a primary care provider.

Location:

San Francisco VA Medical Center
4150 Clement St
San Francisco, CA 94121
Building 200, Primary Care, 1st floor

Hours:

Tuesday mornings

Healthy eating is an important part of your overall health.  We all make food decisions daily and have opportunities to make a positive impact on our health.

Our dietitian staff will work with you and your care team to help you learn to optimize your diet to improve your health. Our dietitians can help develop a personalized nutrition plan to improve your eating habits to help better manage health conditions.  Healthier eating can also decrease the risk for future health conditions. 

Nutrition education and counseling is offered through group, individual, and telehealth sessions.  We provide nutrition education and counseling in areas such as:

• Weight management
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular disease
• Chronic kidney disease
• Underweight/malnutrition risk
• Digestive health
• Eating habits and eating disorders
• General nutrition questions and healthy meal planning ideas

If you are interested in our MOVE Weight Management program, we offer individual, telehealth or virtual video groups focused on making diet and lifestyle changes for weight management. Virtual MOVE Group Sessions are weekly series of classes aimed at helping develop healthier eating habits and meal planning strategies. 

• Virtual MOVE Weekly Classes: Offered on Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Virtual MOVE Weekly Alumni group: Offered Fridays from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Virtual Diabetes Education Group: 10:00 a.m. - Noon on 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month
• Other Nutrition Group Options/Topics offered throughout the year

If you are interested in meeting with a dietitian and setting up a nutrition appointment, please call our Nutrition Clinic: ext. 24262 or ext. 22895.

You can also discuss with your primary care provider if you would benefit from a nutrition referral and they can help enter a nutrition consult to set up a future appointment.

Veteran Peer Support Specialists are trained to support fellow veterans to better navigate the VA health care system. Your Peers can relate to you as a  fellow Veteran on a different level than your doctors or social workers and act as a liaison between you and your recovery team.

We can help you, your family member or caregiver find answers to some of the questions you may have or help you find resources to meet your needs.  We can even be someone to talk to. Sometimes it’s just easier to talk to another Veteran.

Your Primary Care Peer Support Specialists

Brett Garcia

Rudolph (Art) Cendreda

Location: Ground Floor, Building 200

Hours: Monday - Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Our pharmacy provides you and other Veterans with convenient, efficient service to make it easy to get your medications and medical supplies.

You can:

• Pick up new prescriptions in person
• Refill prescriptions online and by phone or mail
• Safely dispose of medicines

Need an urgent medication after hours or on the weekend? Call our 24 hour nurse advice line .

Learn more about our pharmacy

Location:  Building 200, 2nd Floor

Hours: Monday - Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

We offer radiology and imaging services to diagnose and treat many medical conditions.

Our services include:

• X-ray (once an X-ray is ordered by your care team, no appointment needed)
• Ultrasound
• Mammography (mammograms)
• Computer tomography (CT)
• Positron emission tomography (PET)
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Interventional radiology

SFVAMC is also home to the Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIND), which supports research for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Gulf War illness, epilepsy, depression, and other conditions associated with nerve loss in the brain.

Call our Veterans Crisis Line at 988 (select 1) for free, private help anytime 24/7. Our local suicide prevention coordinators can also connect you with ongoing counseling and services.

We work with behavioral health providers and community organizations to help you and your family during times of crisis. We offer:

• Suicide prevention care coordinators
• Suicide prevention case managers
• Free gun safety locks

Whole Health is VA’s holistic approach to care that supports your health and well-being. Whole Health centers around what matters to you, not what is the matter with you. This means your health team will get to know you as a person, before working with you to develop a personalized health plan based on your values, needs, and goals. (https://www.va.gov/wholehealth/)

Primary Care collaborates with the Integrative Health Service to provide access to veteran peer support and health coaching, a wide variety of wellness groups and workshops, and a Whole Health Passport workshop series co-facilitated by veteran peers and a physician covering 8 dimensions of wellbeing.

To access any Whole Health wellness groups and workshops, ask your Primary Care team for a Whole Health Consult. You can also explore Whole Health resources yourself at: Whole Health Resource Directory (vetsreturnhome.com)

Selected Whole Health wellness offerings include:

• Whole Health coaching
• Whole Health Passport Groups
• Mind Body Skills Groups
• Yoga
• Recreation therapy
• Biofeedback
• Orientation to wellness apps / technologies for self-use

Selected Integrative Health clinical offerings requiring provider referral include:

• Acupuncture
• Chiropractic care
• Integrated Pain Team Clinic
• Integrative Health and Wellness Clinic
• Post-9/11 Veterans’ Integrated Care Clinic
• Post-COVID Clinic