The DOW and VA maintain one of the largest healthcare partnerships in the federal government.
Together, they work to deliver seamless, high-quality care for service members from active duty through their transition to veteran status, while maximizing shared resources, facilities, and expertise. Secure data sharing and coordinated procurement are other areas where partnership helps achieve greater outcomes.
The partnership matters to service members and veterans when we're able to reduce waiting times and increase access to care. Just in the Military Health System, the partnership has enhanced surgical volume and added procedural case complexity for military medical providers. Recapturing regional Direct CareDirect care refers to military hospitals and clinics, also known as “military treatment facilities” and “MTFs.”direct care into federal healthcare facilities has not only cost-savings but also can reduce waiting times for certain services in some locations.
This section features the latest news and updates on our joint health initiatives.
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July 25, 2026
This immersive technology supports pain management, anxiety and PTSD treatments, addiction recovery, and physical and recreational therapy.
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May 29, 2026
Arnold Engineering Development Complex and Veterans Affairs cut ribbon on clinic expansion.
Article
May 13, 2026
Since the commencement of the partnership between Naval Hospital Jacksonville and the Department of Veterans Affairs late last summer, a groundbreaking milestone took place. For the first time ever, a VA surgeon operated on a patient in NH Jacksonville, which has been a military treatment facility for nearly 85 years. Dr. Mark Gould, a retired Navy ...
Article
May 7, 2026
Keller Army Community Hospital staff and a Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) provider executed an initial round of Endocrinology Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) cases on April 15, 2026.
Article
May 5, 2026
An expansion of the Tullahoma Veterans Affairs Clinic is nearing completion, boosting access to care for an additional 1,800 eligible patients, to include active duty Airmen. Officials anticipate the clinic will begin seeing new patients June 1. “This expansion reflects the strength of the partnership between VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System and ...
Article
March 12, 2026
Leaders from Munson Army Health Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas visited nearby Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center March 11 during an open house and veteran town hall hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs facility.
Video
March 4, 2026
The latest news from around the Military Health System for the week of March 2-6, 2026, includes a vital collaboration between Department of War and the Department of Veterans Affairs, new whole genome sequencing brain research, and a military surgical milestone.
Article
Feb. 27, 2026
A physician from the Department of Veterans Affairs performed a landmark cardiac procedure at the Mike O'Callaghan Military Medical Center, the first time that it has been performed successfully in the state of Nevada. This achievement represents a significant step forward for local cardiac care and showcases the success of a resource-sharing ...
Article
Feb. 27, 2026
Naval Medical Center San Diego Director, U.S. Navy Capt. Elizabeth Adriano, presented U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Chad Laughrey, chaplain at NMCSD, with his board certification from the National Association of Veterans Affairs Chaplains at NMCSD, Feb. 17.
Article
Feb. 24, 2026
A long-standing partnership between Irwin Army Community Hospital, Fort Riley, Kansas, and the VA Eastern Kansas Healthcare System is expanding specialty services and access to care for veterans and service members.
Video
Feb. 19, 2026
The latest news from around the Military Health System for the week of Feb. 16-20, 2026, includes Irwin Army Community Hospital’s partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand care, TRICARE’s preventive breast cancer screenings, and an immersive research bootcamp at Uniformed Services University.
Article
Jan. 9, 2026
For Sarah Thompson, a future with less pain felt like distant hope. Suffering from spondylolisthesis, a painful slippage of a vertebral body, Thompson endured chronic back pain, severe radiating leg pain, and weakness in her foot.
Video
Jan. 7, 2026
The Jan. 7 visit focused on advancing a DOD-VA Health Care resource sharing program designed to improve healthcare access for veterans and increase skill sustainment opportunities and readiness for providers in the Military Health System.
Article
Dec. 15, 2025
The North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System and Naval Hospital Jacksonville have created a partnership to increase access to timely, coordinated care for veterans across the Jacksonville and surrounding areas.
Article
Oct. 28, 2025
In a landmark step toward stronger partnership and integrated health care, Naval Hospital Jacksonville has launched a new initiative in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of War. The program, led by Cmdr. Elizabeth Farrar as the administrative team lead and Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Marsh as the clinical team lead, aims ...
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Last Updated: November 13, 2026