Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center

We help Veterans on their recovery journey through outpatient and inpatient services. Our residential facility helps Veterans deal with substance abuse, homelessness, mental health, and unemployment through its 24-hour therapeutic and educational programs like:

Rehabilitation, Health maintenance, Community support

Substance Abuse Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (SARRTP). This programs provide a residential level of care to Veterans with Substance Use Disorders.

Our Audiology and Speech Pathology clinic provides diagnostic and rehabilitative services, VA compensation and pension examinations, and screening for employee hearing conservation. We offer a full range of audiology and speech pathology services like:

• Hearing and balance evaluations
• Selection, management, and repair of hearing aids and assistive listening device assessments
• Evaluation, programming, and management of cochlear implants and bone-anchored implants
• Evaluation and treatment for auditory processing disorder
• Services that help with speech, language, fluency, voice, cognitive communication, swallowing, stuttering, and laryngectomy "surgical removal of the larynx, which contains your vocal cords"

Learn more about VA hearing aids

Care we provide at VA Wilkes-Barre health care

Bariatric surgery, also called weight loss surgery, reduces the size of your stomach and length of your small intestine to limit the amount of food that can be eaten or absorbed. Bariatric surgery can be done in several ways: 

• Gastric bypass, also called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, shrinks stomach size and re-routes your digestive system so you don’t absorb as much food
• Sleeve gastrectomy removes part of your stomach, leaving only a slender “sleeve” 

Learn more about our bariatric surgery program.

Our low vision outpatient clinic can assess your needs and provide a rehab plan tailored to your personal goals. Our team of specialists and social workers will work with you to find the right aids and services. Our clinic services include:

• Comprehensive eye exams
• Visual skills assessments
• Guidance on how to develop visual motor and perceptual skills
• Training to help you manage daily activities with your vision loss

• COVID-19 vaccines for eligible Veterans and staff

Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines at VA

We perform noninvasive and minimally invasive tests and procedures that check, support, and improve your heart health. We’ll work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan and treat you with the most effective medications. Our services include

• Evaluating you for coronary heart disease, heart-valve disease, and heart defects
• Determining how well blood flows through your heart vessels or find the cause of your heart failure
• Treating your heart vessels with nonsurgical or minimally invasive operations that open and support them through balloon angioplasty or stent placement
• Noninvasively monitoring you for changes in heart rhythm, using electrocardiograms "EKGs or ECGs", portable Holt monitors, or ultrasound
• Performing surgical treatments like pacemaker implants or cardiac catheterization "inserting a long, thin tube into an artery or vein"

If you’re a caregiver for a Veteran, you can get support by contacting one of our caregiver support coordinators. If the Veteran you care for was injured post-9/11, you may be eligible for even more services, including a stipend to help with expenses, training, and medical coverage if you aren’t already covered. For all caregivers, we can:

• Help you get caregiver assistance available through VA
• Provide progressive needs planning to help you manage degenerative conditions
• Match you with services and benefits
• Connect you with local resources and programs
• Listen to you when you struggle
• Provide you with additional help at home

Learn more about our  Caregiver support

If you’re eligible for VA dental care, we offer a full range of quality dental services like:

• Routine exams and teeth cleaning
• Restorative procedures, including fillings and crowns
• Comprehensive surgical care, including extractions "pulling teeth" and oral cancer screening
• Routine and advanced prosthodontic care, including bridges, dentures, and dental implants
• Routine and advanced periodontal care, including root canals, gum treatments, and supporting bone care
• Oral and facial reconstruction surgery to repair damage from traumatic injury or serious illness

We offer many medical and support services to help you manage your diabetes like:

• Self-management, education, and support classes
• Insulin therapy and blood-glucose meter training
• Diabetes survival skills that include sick-day management, lifestyle changes, nutrition advice, and cooking classes

We assess your situation and condition to decide which outpatient geriatric services are right for you or a senior Veteran in your care, and then we coordinate your care. Our team of specialists provides geriatric services that include:

• Medicine and nursing
• Psychology, psychiatry, and social work
• Physical and occupational therapy

Our gynecologists focus on the female reproductive system and provide services that include:

• Mammograms for breast cancer, screenings for sexually transmitted disease, and Pap tests for cervical cancer
• Counseling and treatment for contraception, pregnancy, and infertility
• Osteoporosis screening for brittle bones
• Exams for abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pain, or various cancers
• Primary care checkups

We offer a range of hematology and oncology services. You can arrange appointments and consultation through your primary care provider. Our hematology and oncology services include:

• Chemotherapy
• Blood and platelet transfusions
• Mediport flushes to clean and maintain the small medical appliance inserted under your skin, making it easier to inject drugs and draw blood
• Evaluation and treatment of blood disorders and cancer
• Dedicated outpatient infusion center, working closely with radiation oncology, interventional radiology, general surgery, diagnostics, palliative care, and social services
• Bone marrow biopsies, to see whether your bone tissue is healthy and making a normal number of blood cells

We help homeless Veterans, or those at risk of becoming homeless due to financial hardship, unemployment, addiction, depression, or transition from jail. Contact one of our care coordinators to get help with:

• Immediate food and shelter needs, including both transitional and permanent housing
• Job training, life skills development, and education
• Justice system navigation and community reentry from jail
• Financial support to prevent homelessness
• Addiction and depression treatment
• Health and dental care

Learn more about our Homeless Veteran care program

We promote the health, welfare, and dignity of Veterans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) or a related identity. We focus on ensuring a safe, welcoming, and affirmative environment when providing you with sensitive and high-quality health care services like:

• Hormone therapy
• Substance use and alcohol treatment
• Testing and treatment for HIV and STIs "sexually transmitted infections"
• Mental health care
• Psychosocial assessments for gender-confirming surgeries and hormone therapy

Learn more about our LGBTQ+ Veteran care

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

• Study of blood, urine, and other bodily fluids for illness management
• Testing for infectious diseases
• Cytopathology "study of unusual cells" and surgical pathology "study of tissue removed during surgery"
• Autopsy services

MOVE! is a weight-management program designed to help you live a longer, healthier life. With the help of your MOVE! care team, you can eat a healthier diet, get more exercise, reduce your health risks, and improve your quality of life. The MOVE! program offers:

• Weight-loss support groups to help you lose weight and keep it off
• Healthy eating tips and cooking classes
• Behavioral change strategies to help you live a healthier lifestyle

Our medical center and clinics provide consultation, evaluation, and treatment for a range of issues that may impact your mental health or emotional well-being. Our confidential outpatient services include individual and group therapy for:

• Psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression
• Marriage and relationship problems
• Posttraumatic stress disorder "PTSD"
• Anxiety, addictive behaviors, and personality disorders
• Aggressive or self-harming behaviors

Learn more about our Mental health care program

We offer care for military sexual trauma in our mental (behavioral) health clinics. Military sexual trauma refers to sexual assault, sexual harassment, or other threatening, offensive, or unwanted sexual advances, activities, or remarks that you experienced in the military. Our goal is to help you improve your quality of life with strategies to manage emotions and memories related to your military sexual trauma. Our services include:

• Counseling
• Psychiatric care
• Walk-in care

Learn more about how to get support for MST 

If you’re a minority Veteran, we can help you get the services and benefits you need. Our Minority Veterans Program serves all Veterans who are African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American (including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Island Americans). We work to:

• Help the medical center address minority Veterans’ needs
• Meet minority Veterans’ needs in the local community
• Identify barriers and create a more accessible environment for minority Veterans
• Inform minority Veterans of VA benefits, services, and programs

Learn more about our Minority Veteran care program

My HealtheVet is a web-based tool you can use to manage your care and improve your health from your computer or mobile device. You can access your personal health records and use tools to manage your care through our My HealtheVet online system. You can also use My HealtheVet to refill your prescriptions, track appointments, and read informative health articles. If you need help using My HealtheVet, you can contact our coordinator by phone or in person. With My HealtheVet, you can:

• Ask questions and exchange secure online messages with your VA health care team
• Check your lab and test results
• Refill your prescriptions, track delivery, and view a list of your medications
• Keep track of your VA medical appointments and get email reminders
• View, download, or print a copy of your VA medical records
• Enter or update your personal information

There is a My HealtheVet contact at each of our Community Based Outpatient Clinics.

Allentown CBOC: Richard Burton (610) 776-4304 x34333

Columbia Co. CBOC: Kimberly Jones (570) 316-4116

Honesdale CBOC: Rita Leonardo (570) 251-6543

Northampton CBOC: Shelli Valko (610)599-0127 x35809

Sayre CBOC: Kathleen K. (570) 824-3521 x32057

Tobyhanna CBOC: 1-877-928-2621 x24219

Williamsport CBOC: Jennie Borek (570) 322-4791 x32201

We provide inpatient and outpatient services for chronic diseases and disorders that affect your brain, spine, and the nerves that connect them. Our neurologists read electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings, which measure the electrical impulses brain cells use to communicate with each other. We evaluate and treat many neurological illnesses and disorders such as:

• Neuropathy (nerve damage), myelopathy and other spinal cord injuries, and radiculopathy (pinched nerves)
• Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis
• Stroke, dementia, and degenerative diseases
• Other neurological conditions

Our registered dietitians can help you maintain or improve your health with good nutrition tailored to your needs. Through group, individual, and telehealth sessions, we provide nutrition education and counseling in areas such as:

• Cardiovascular and heart health
• Chronic kidney disease
• Diabetes (including gestational diabetes)
• Eating disorders and digestive health
• Pregnancy and postpartum nutrition
• Weight management

We offer comprehensive evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment for eye-related illnesses, injuries, and other issues. Our ophthalmology services include:

• Medical care for glaucoma, eye infections, and other conditions
• Surgery for cataracts, traumatic eye injuries, and other problems
• Treatment for eye conditions related to illnesses like diabetes or arthritis
• Plastic surgery to repair droopy eyelids, clear blocked tear ducts, and perform eyelid and facial reconstruction (oculoplastics)

Our optometrists provide many eye-related services and treatments like:

• Vision services and eye exams
• Treatment for diseases and injuries of the retina, cornea, and other parts of your eye
• Low-vision services for conditions like macular degeneration that can’t be corrected by glasses, surgery, or medication
• Special eye exams for diabetic patients

We use surgical and nonsurgical means to treat illnesses and disorders of the musculoskeletal system, which includes your bones, muscles, joints, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissue. We treat conditions like:

• Musculoskeletal trauma
• Degenerative illnesses
• Sports injuries

Acute (short-term) or chronic (long-lasting) pain can make it hard to enjoy life, but effective pain management can help. Our experts work with you, your primary care physician, and other specialists to create a plan to help you manage your pain and improve your quality of life. Our services include:

• Chiropractic care to relieve pain without medication
• Prescribing and supervising your use of medications
• Teaching you skills that include meditation, mindfulness training, relaxation, yoga, and tai chi to help you manage your pain
• Providing physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, biofeedback, and other compatible therapies

Our palliative and hospice care services support you and your family as you cope with a life-threatening or terminal illness. Palliative care works to provide comfort, reduce suffering, and improve the quality of life for patients being treated for serious illnesses. Hospice care focuses on helping patients with terminal illnesses to manage the final stages of their lives. Our palliative and hospice care services include:

• Pain and symptom management
• Emotional, spiritual, and psychosocial support for you and your family
• Help with practical issues that include an advance directive (living will), health care power of attorney, funeral arrangements, and applying for VA death and burial benefits
• Education to help you and your family make informed health care decisions and know what to expect as your health declines
• Bereavement care to help surviving family members during the grieving process

Our patient advocates work hard to make sure you receive the best possible care at our health care facilities. They can:

• Help you get answers or address concerns with your care team
• Advocate for patient and family rights
• Serve as advocates for minority Veterans, women Veterans, and Veterans with disabilities
• Offer specialized help to former prisoners of war and Veterans transitioning from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND)

Learn more about our Patient advocates

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

Learn more about our Pharmacy services

Learn more about our Pharmacy residency program

Physical therapy, occupational therapy and kinesiotherapy can help restore movement and function if you have been disabled by injury or disease.

If you’re living with or recovering from an injury, illness, or chronic condition that limits your mobility and independence, we can help. Our physical, occupational, and movement therapists combine therapeutic exercise, counseling, education, and training to help you improve your health and quality of life. Our services include:

• Pain relief and joint mobilization
• Movement and exercise therapies to improve your strength, endurance, balance, and coordination
• Mobility assessment and training with wheelchairs, scooters, and walking devices
• Life skills training and activities to help you maintain the highest level of independence and functionality
• Aquatic therapy to manage chronic pain
• Evaluation and treatment for a wide range of medical, orthopedic, psychosocial, and neurological conditions

Our podiatry specialists evaluate and treat a wide range of injuries, diseases and disorders that affect your feet and ankles—from ingrown toenails to inflammation to diabetic foot ulcers.

After years of walking, running, marching, jumping, rappelling, and parachuting, many Veterans experience trouble with their feet and ankles. We can help treat those problems so you can continue to enjoy an active lifestyle. Our podiatry services include:

• Arthritis care for inflamed, swollen, or damaged joints
• Foot and ankle fracture treatment; repair of cartilage, torn tendons and ligaments
• Injections to reduce pain and swelling
• Joint arthroplasty (surgical repair or reconstruction) and replacement
• Minimally invasive surgery and post-surgical rehabilitation
• Foot health maintenance procedures (bunion removal, resurfacing, and nail trimming)

Your VA primary care provider will work closely with you to plan for all the care you need to stay healthy and well throughout your life, including immunizations and vaccinations. They will also work with family members or caregivers who support you.

A strong network of family and internal medicine specialists and services can offer you the best possible care. Internal medicine doctors (internists) prevent, diagnose, and treat adult diseases. Doctors who specialize in family medicine provide primary health care to the entire family. Your primary care team can coordinate the many services you receive such as:

• Blood work and Advanced Lab Testing
• Mental health care
• Women's health care
• Imaging Services - Radiology
• Social services
• Telehealth

We provide and help you use medical aids, hearing aids, state-of-the-art adaptive home equipment and other equipment to help you preserve and increase your mobility and independence.

VA is the world’s largest and most comprehensive provider of sensory aides and prosthetic devices. Veterans enrolled in the VA health care system and referred by a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician can receive a full range of services and equipment like:

• Artificial limbs and surgical implants, including artificial joints and pacemakers
• Wheelchairs and other medical devices
• Aids for Veterans who are blind, have low vision, or are hearing impaired
• Adaptive equipment and modifications to make your vehicle or home more accessible
• Other devices and services to help increase your mobility, dignity, and independence
• Clothing allowance for Veterans with devices that damage their clothing

The radiation oncology service works with your health care team to target cancer safely and precisely using radiation therapy.

Radiation oncology services are supplied via community care.  Radiation oncologists specialize in treating patients with external and internal radiation therapy or radiotherapy. You doctor can use radiation to treat cancer and control its growth or relieve pain. The radiation therapy you receive depends on the cancer type, tumor size and location, your general health, and your other treatments

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

• X-ray
• Ultrasound
• Mammography (mammograms)  * (end of 2021)
• Computer tomography (CT)
• Positron emission tomography (PET)
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

We offer a wide range of activities (arts and crafts, games, sports, exercise) that we can adapt to your needs.

Care we provide at Stress management and social skills training

Our therapies promote your independence and enhance your health and well-being if you’re a Veteran with an injury, chronic (long-lasting) illness, or disabling condition. After your primary health care provider gives you a referral, a recreation therapist will develop treatment goals for you.

• Recreation and creative arts therapy provides services and activities that include:
• Animal interaction
• Music, art, and crafts
• Community outings
• Exercise, sports, and games
• Gardening and leisure education
• Stress management and social skills training

We provide long-term care to help you and your family when you’re dealing with a disability, chronic "long-lasting" illness, terminal illness, or serious health issues related to aging. Our long-term health care services include:

• 24/7 nursing and medical care
• Physical therapy
• Help with daily tasks "like bathing, dressing, making meals, and taking medicine"
• Pain management and palliative care "to relieve suffering and improve quality of life for people with serious illnesses"
• Hospice care "to provide comfort and compassionate care for people in the last phases of an incurable illness"
• To learn more about the different types of extended care that VA provides, see our guide to long-term services and support.

If you’re returning from military service, we can help you readjust to civilian life and get started with VA health care. We can also help connect you with programs like mental health services and education and career counseling.

At VA <> health care, we can help you readjust to civilian life if you’re returning from military service, on active duty, or an activated National Guard or Reserve member. Talk to one of our care coordinators about how to best use your health care benefits.

• Polytrauma care (if you have multiple traumatic injuries)
• Counseling and rehabilitation
• Mental and behavioral health services
• Family benefits counseling and assistance
• Referral assistance

Learn more and connect with a coordinator

If you are trying to quit smoking or want to stop using tobacco, we can help you with support, resources and programs.

You can quit smoking or chewing tobacco. Our goal is to provide support and strategies to add to optional nicotine replacement therapy prescribed by your primary care doctor. These include:

• FDA-approved medications to manage nicotine withdrawal and the urge to smoke.
• Counseling in person or by phone
• Tobacco Cessation Quitline for individual counseling and strategies
• SmokefreeVET text message program for daily advice and interactive support
• Stay Quit Coach mobile app to help you quit smoking and stay smoke-free

Social work is integral to health care. We can help you and your family manage stress-related problems due to injury or illness, and find VA community resources to meet your needs like:

• Home health services
• Legal services
• Transportation
• Community living

If you have a spinal cord injury or disorder, our specialists provide coordinated care throughout your life. We work to help you achieve your goals for independence, productivity and quality of life.

VA has the nation’s largest system of care for spinal cord injuries and disorders. We provide a convenient, connected network of experts to care for you during each phase of your life. Our experienced primary care providers are trained to check for problems unique to spinal cord injuries.

• Pressure ulcers
• Pneumonia
• Blood clots
• Bladder and sexual issues
• Constipation and other gastrointestinal problems
• Sexual issues

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
• Gun safety locks

Suicide Prevention Annual Report (va.gov)

Learn more and connect with a care coordinator

If you are having surgery, we make sure that your procedure and follow-up care are safe and high-quality.

We provide a wide range of surgical services, like:

• General surgery
• Anesthesia
• Bariatric surgery
• Cardiac surgery (heart and major blood vessels)
• Neurosurgery (brain, spinal column, and nerves)
• Orthopedic surgery (bones, muscles, ligaments, joints, and tendons)
• Organ and tissue transplants

We use the latest in secure digital technology to set up remote visits with our health care providers. We offer video conferencing, home telehealth services, and store-and-forward telehealth that lets you securely send your health information to experts at VA facilities. We offer telehealth visits with providers in:

• Mental health
• Retinal care (eye)
• Bariatric surgery (visit remotely with your weight-loss surgery team before and after your operation)
• Dermatology
• Rehabilitation
• Primary care

We perform chest surgery (also known as thoracic surgery) to treats conditions involving your chest, airway and esophagus.

Our thoracic surgeons provide state-of-the-art surgical techniques and cancer therapies that focus on your lungs and other organs of the chest. Many of our thoracic treatments also address problems with your esophagus (the tube that connects your mouth and stomach), your trachea (airway), and your chest wall (rib cage and breastbone). We treat a variety of conditions that include:

• Lung cancer and cancer of the esophagus
• Benign chest and lung tumors
• Pleural illnesses, like pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and infections of the pleura (the thin membrane that lines the chest wall and covers the lungs)
• Achalasia, which occurs when nerve damage prevents your esophagus from pushing food into your stomach)
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or acid reflux, which occurs when stomach acid frequently flows back into your esophagus and irritates the lining
• Diseases of the thymus, a small organ beneath your breastbone that produces cells that support your immune system and fight cancer

The Toxic Exposure Screening (TES) includes screening for a wide variety of agents that service members may have been exposed to during their military deployments or assignments.

Veterans enrolled with the VHA may ask your care team to start the Toxic Exposure Screen.

If you are not enrolled for VHA services, please contact our Eligibility & Enrollment office at 570-824-3521, Option 4. Once enrolled, you will be assigned a primary care team who will schedule your screening.

Additional toxic exposure screening (TES) fast facts:

• TES is not diagnostic and is not a part of the VA benefits claims process.
• Being screened is separate from joining a VA environmental health registry.
• The TES is repeated at least once every 5 years.
• If you choose not to be screened, you will have the option to decline until the following year.

To find out if you are eligible visit:

• www.va.gov/PACT
• www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/burnpits/registry.asp

If you’re traveling for VA-approved care, we can repay you for the cost of using regular transportation that includes cars, planes, trains, buses, taxis, rideshare, or light rail. You may also be eligible for repayment when using ambulances, wheelchair vans, or ambulettes (non-emergency medical transportation).

We evaluate, diagnose, and treat a wide range of urology diseases and conditions that include kidney stones, erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, prostate cancer, and more. We provide you with medical care, surgery, and minimally invasive procedures for health issues that affect:

• Kidneys
• Bladder
• Ureter and urethra
• Male reproductive organs

Our expert team diagnoses and treats diseases and conditions that affect arteries, veins and blood circulation.

Our vascular surgeons treat illnesses of your arteries and veins. Our surgeons can treat these problems with medication and exercise. Vascular illness causes include atherosclerosis caused by the buildup of plaque in your arteries; blockage by a blood clot or fatty deposit; inflammation, (vasculitis); and trauma or injury

If you are interested in making changes to support what’s most important to you and your well-being?  We’re here to partner with you to make it happen!  Your care team will use your mission, aspiration, and purpose to formulate a plan just for you.

Care we provide at VA Wilkes-Barre health care

Whole Health is VA’s approach to health care that is all about what matters to you, not what is the matter with you. Whole Health care empowers, equips, and encourages Veterans to take charge of their health and well-being.  It focuses on self-healing and self-care to help you adopt healthy living practices.  You will find all the resources and you need to get started on your Whole Health journey today, such as:

• Courses to learn more about Whole Health and explore your own Mission, Aspiration, and Purpose (MAP)
• Well-being courses to equip you with the tools you need
• Whole Health Coaching to help you set wellness goals and develop a plan to reach them
• Complementary and integrative health offerings, such as tai chi and battlefield acupuncture
• Mobile apps and online tools

We offer women’s health services to meet your specific needs such as disease screenings, mental health treatment, recovery from military sexual trauma, maternity care and female-specific medical equipment.

Our women's health program offers complete health care for women Veterans of all ages. Our primary care providers specialize in women’s health. They work closely with specialists in gynecology, obstetrics, female urology, oncology, medicine, radiology, surgery, and breast illness. Our services for women Veterans include:

• Ultrasounds, Mammograms, Pap and HPV tests
• Mental health care and counseling
• Lifestyle wellness services
• Menopause treatment, including hormonal therapy
• Family planning, contraceptive care, and infertility evaluation

Learn more and connect with our Women Veterans Program Manager