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About us

At the VA St. Louis Healthcare System, we’re dedicated to improving the lives of Veterans and their families every day.

About the VA St. Louis Healthcare System

The VA St. Louis 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 10 locations serving east central Missouri and southwestern Illinois. Facilities include John Cochran Veterans Hospital in midtown St. Louis and St. Louis VA Medical Center-Jefferson Barracks. We also have 8 community-based outpatient clinics in Washington, Florissant, O’Fallon, and St. Louis, Missouri; and Scott Air Force Base and Shiloh, Illinois. To learn more about the services each location offers, visit the VA St. Louis health services page.

The VA St. Louis Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the VA Heartland Network. We’re an innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 15 (VISN 15), which includes medical centers and clinics in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, and Arkansas.  

Learn more about VISN 15 

Research and development

Our hospitals 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. 

We have more than 125 active research studies. Major research areas include: 

  • Basic sciences  
  • Translational research 
  • Clinical trials 
  • Clinical epidemiology 

Teaching and learning

John Cochran Veterans Hospital and St. Louis VA Medical Center-Jefferson Barracks are teaching hospitals that provide a full range of services with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research.   

We maintain affiliations with:  

  • St. Louis University School of Medicine 
  • Washington University School of Medicine 
  • St. Louis College of Pharmacy 
  • Southern Illinois University School of Dentistry 
  • University of Missouri-St. Louis School of Optometry 

We’re proud of our partnerships with top institutions and organizations that support the educational mission of the VA. 

Fast facts

  • We provide health care to more than 65,000 Veterans each year. 
  • Our hospital in midtown St. Louis is named for John Cochran, who served 11 terms in Congress for Missouri’s 13th District from 1925 to 1947. Cochran was born and reared in Webster Groves. 
  • We maintain 355 hospital beds. 

Accreditations and achievements

Our facilities and programs have received accreditation from: 

  • The Joint Commission 
  • Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities 
  • Council on Chiropractic Education 
  • Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association 

The VA St. Louis Healthcare System has received the following awards: 

COMING SOON 

Annual reports and newsletters

Annual reports

COMING SOON 

Newsletters