PACT Act March Story
For eight years, Taylor Dawson encouraged his fellow Marines and Sailors to get connected to their VA benefits, yet he never took the time to enroll in VA himself.
It wasn’t until the passage of the PACT Act in August 2022 that the Fleet Marine Force Navy Corpsman finally decided to give VA health care a chance.
“I was under the impression that a service-connected disability would affect my deployment, so I decided not to engage with [the health care at] VA,” Dawson said. “I ended my active military service in 2017 and spent the next five years with no knowledge of the health care I could get. I spent time in Africa around burn pits and was curious if I was eligible for treatment.”
Although he was using his earned GI Bill benefits, he felt completely lost when trying to navigate enrollment and eligibility for health care. Dawson reached out to his university’s student-veteran center where he was immediately connected with an outreach specialist from Wilmington VA Medical Center in Wilmington, Del.
“While I was attending Stockton University, I had the pleasure of meeting Jaqueline Hinker. She explained my options for care and what that meant with regards to the PACT Act.”
Together, they competed Dawson’s enrollment application, and Hinker guided him through the various health care services Wilmington VA offered.
“I went from having no health care and skipping the doctor’s office to having my first VA appointment scheduled at no cost to me,” he said. “I’m grateful for Ms. Hinker and the Wilmington VA.”
For more information on VA health care and benefits related to PACT Act, visit www.va.gov/PACT.