Prevalence of Obesity in USA

Veteran Affairs Black Hills Health Care System

Introduction

Veteran Affairs Black Hills Health Care System, also known as VA Black Hills Health Care System offers primary and secondary surgical and medical care with RRTP (Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program) services, tertiary psychiatric inpatient services and nursing home care for Veterans living in South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming, USA. It provides for the patient care through its Hot Springs medical centers and Fort Meade, along with various clinics based in communities. This health care system serves as a health care provider at the Black Hills national cemetery, Martin and Rapid City,(Hynes, 2007). This health care system has agreements with the Air force base at Ellsworth, the National Guard and various community stakeholders.

Veterans Health Administration came into existence during the civil wars. It was established as the first hospital at the federal level. It was recognized by the then president, Abraham Lincoln as an asylum for providing the much needed medical care to the soldiers and the retired members of the army and navy. This was first of its kind, at that time, in the world. It offered housing for the servants of the civil war along with medical facilities. It was popularly known as 'military home'. At the initial level, only those who served the military were allowed to reside and avail the medical facilities. The first one of such class opened at Augusta in 1866, after which various processes and programs were initiated, and are still in the continuation. These military homes or national homes spanned all over the nation, as eleven institutes were established. All these national homes are in a continuous operation ever since they opened,(Hynes, 2007).

This paper focuses on the various programs that VA Health Care has designed for the disabled people. It focuses on how the VA Health Care supports to serve those with disabilities, how their services are funded, the kind of staff it has, the kind of services that are offered by this health care system and how disabled people get access to their offerings.

Discussion

The department of the VA was formed on the 15th of March in the year of 1989. It succeeded the veterans' administration, being responsible for the provision of benefits to the veterans and their close ones. It is over looked by the secretary of the Veterans affairs, being one of the biggest departments of the cabinet, operating all over the nation, for programs meant for health care, burial benefits and financial assistance. About three quarters of the veterans alive today, which total to 23 million, served in the military during the war,(Hynes, 2007). A quarter of the US population is eligible for the various services and the benefits as they are either veterans, family members of veterans or survivors. There are about 180 widows and children of Hispanic creed, who are served by the VA's pensions and compensations. The fiscal year spending of VA is $ 46 billion.

VA provides various services that offer the ...