The Veterans Health Administration serves 5.8 million veterans each year. While the VA continues to make progress on access problems and address other needed improvements, these recent challenges shouldn't overshadow the incredible work being done every day on behalf of our nation's heroes.
Watch this video to see examples of the pioneering work the VA has done and learn more below.
In 1960, the first cardiac pacemaker, developed by a VA team, was successfully implanted.
Source: http://www.research.va.gov/topics/cardio.cfm
In 1962, while working at the Denver VA Medical Center and the University of Colorado Medical Center, Dr. Thomas Starzl performed the first long-term successful kidney transplant. Years later, while still on staff at the VA, he conducted the first human liver transplant. In 2011, Dr. Starzl received the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for his career accomplishments.
Source: http://www.research.va.gov/topics/Kidney_disease.cfm
In 1984, the nicotine patch was developed by VA researchers Dr. Jed Rose, Dr. Daniel Rose, and Dr. Murray Jarvik.
The VA's Prosthetics and Sensory Aids Service is the largest and most comprehensive provider of prosthetic devices and sensory aids in the world.
In 2007, a team of VA doctors and researchers collaborated with a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brown University to unveil the first powered ankle-foot prosthesis.
Source: http://www.research.va.gov/topics/prosthetics.cfm
Dr. Ferid Murad, Dr. Andrew Schally, and Dr. Rosalyn Yalow from the VA have been recognized with three Nobel Prizes for medical discoveries relating to healthy blood vessels; brain hormone production; and blood research and detection, respectively.
Thanks to AFGE’s persistence, federal employees who are new parents are one step closer to receiving an important work/life benefit they have been waiting for years: 12 weeks of paid leave to take care of a new child.
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AFGE National VA Council is set to file a national grievance against the Department of Veterans Affairs after the agency refused to negotiate President Trump’s anti-worker executive orders with the union.
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From hiring freezes to government shutdowns, there is no shortage of bad policies coming from the Trump White House. Now the administration is rolling out some major anti-worker changes to personnel policies as part of its public service deconstruction plan.
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