Half-day women Veterans retreat encourages connection and Whole Health
The women’s program within the Sheridan VA Health Care System is helping Veterans optimize their health care and embrace whole health practices by hosting a free, half-day retreat.
Women Veterans are invited to learn about the power of nutrition and the importance of regular exercise for rejuvenation, stress reduction and overall health.
Health for the whole person
Women Veterans Program Manager Misti Bybee, a licensed clinical social worker, noticed a meaningful pattern among certain patients that led to an opportunity.
“With a lot of the Veterans whose treatments weren’t progressing, there wasn’t good self-care,” she said. “Some weren’t able to nurture themselves through food or movement, so I thought, ‘how can we treat the whole person?’ How do we provide something that offers opportunities for skill development—how to cook and how to engage in nourishing practices?”
With this motivation, the women’s health team welcomes women Veterans to a half-day retreat on Saturday, May 11, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is at the Casper Vet Center, 1030 N. Poplar St., Suite B, in Casper, Wyoming.
Movement and good nutrition are key to health and wellbeing. A VA dietician and recreational therapist will lead the event, offering participants a two-hour healthy cooking class, a one-hour forum for discussing how VA can best meet the needs of women Veterans and an hour-long yoga class to promote strength and stress reduction.
Impact on many levels
Whole Health is VA’s approach to care that goes beyond a particular symptom, disease or health concern to focus on the entire person and also consider the Veteran’s needs and wants.
“We’re providing opportunities to not just talk about Whole Health, but to engage in Whole Health practices,” said Bybee. “I went to a training that covered the top medical diagnoses of women Veterans and many stem from lifestyle choices. It’s our onus to figure this out and provide wholistic care.”
Participants can connect with program support and their Veteran peers at this event. Bybee said her team is also using this opportunity to reduce suicide risk and address loneliness by showing women Veterans they are loved and that they belong at VA.
Bybee encourages women Veterans to register by the May 8 deadline. A pivotal point of this event will be the discussion portion that will allow participants to share their health care experiences.
“What does good health care look like for them?” Bybee asked. “This event offers the women a way to have a voice in their health care.”
To RSVP for the women Veterans half-day retreat, contact Brianna Cunningham at 307-675-3712.
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April Love is a writer-editor on the VISN 19 Creative Task Force. She began working for VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in 2016 and lives in Aurora, Colorado.