Veterans' Healthy Living, Winter 2014
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Dear Veterans
A Message from the Network Director
Michael F. Mayo-Smith, M.D., M.P.H.
Network Director
I trust you had a happy, healthy holiday season and that you are looking forward to the year as we much as we are.
At VA, we want to help our Veterans live full, productive lives. In this issue, we’ll look at some of the ways in which your participation in surveys, studies, research, and new programs helps us help you, and it helps your fellow Veterans and millions of other Americans, too.
We start this issue of Veterans’ Healthy Living on page 3 with an article about an innovative five-day program for Veterans suffering with chronic pain syndrome.
A great nursing staff can make a hospital stay much nicer, and we think VA has the finest nurses anywhere! On pages 4 and 5, you’ll read how one of our own has worked for years—and continues working—to determine how nursing care can affect your outcome after a hospital visit.
On page 6 you’ll find a story about a VA geriatrician who garnered a lot of attention for discovering a potential link between chemotherapy and Alzheimer’s disease.
On page 7 there is information about a current study to determine how we can best serve our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Veterans as they leave the military. Also on that page you’ll learn about an ongoing study to help those diagnosed with colorectal cancer. It is the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States but very treatable with early detection.
These are just some of the many examples of how VA surveys, studies, research, and new programs—and Veterans who participate in them—can change the face of health care for patients everywhere.
Thank you for your service. Now let us serve you!
Michael F. Mayo-Smith, M.D., M.P.H.
Network Director