The Women’s Congressional Policy Institute, DAV, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America in cooperation with Representatives Susan Brooks, Lois Frankel, Mimi Waters, and Brenda Lawrence hosted the annual Health Challenges Facing Women’s Veteran’s Following Deployment luncheon. The key speakers for the event were Carolyn Clancy, Shurhonda Love, and Allison Jaslow. The event focused on women Veterans’ issues and highlighted several initiatives taken by the VA to improve care for women Veterans. The population of woman Veterans has grown in the last decade, and there were great discussions on key issues. Some of the topics included the following:
There are gaps in providers and difficulty getting gynecologist appointments.
Not having access to care made female Veterans feel not as important and became a barrier to care.
Female Veteran suicide rate is a big concern, and the female Veteran suicide rate is twice that of the civilian rate.
There is a need to improve women VA clinics in VA centers across the country and a need for increased funding from Congress
Summary: The annual luncheon is key in highlighting the challenges facing women Veterans and the need for increased funding, awareness, and legislation to ensure female Veterans are getting the care they need. NAAV will continue to attend these types of functions to be an advocate for our Veterans.
Photographs by Kevin Jackson