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
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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 ...
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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 ...
Article
Sept. 29, 2025
The Department of Air Force transferred more than 178,000 biological samples from Vietnam and Korean War veterans to the Department of Veterans Affairs in August, concluding an 18-year effort to safeguard them for future studies.
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Aug. 12, 2025
The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs continue burn pit exposure support of more than 4.7 million veterans in a toxic exposures registry and offer updated healthcare provider training on those exposures.
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Feb. 24, 2025
The 2025 update to the Clinical Practice Guideline on the Rehabilitation of Individuals with Lower Limb Amputation, a collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense with oversight through the Defense Health Agency’s Office of Evidence Based Practice, was released in January 2025. The guideline offers important ...
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Last Updated: November 13, 2026