The fastest growing population group in the military is women who currently comprise just under 15 percent of active duty personnel and 18 percent of National Guard and Reserves.
The Veterans Administration is reworking it's procedures to accommodate the health needs of women veterans. Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain spokesperson Brad Nelson outlines the change...
"....as would make sense as a result...what we are seeing is an increase in women veterans using VA services. In fact it's almost doubled since 2000-2013......"
Women veterans are using the clinics in the region...
".....in Rhinelander in 2016 we served 204 women veterans. Across the board here in Iron Mountain and in our seven community-based outreach clinics of which Rhinelander is one of them, we have served over 1,100 women veterans, 58 percent are at our outpatient clinics of which Rhinelander is one of them. Rhinelander ranked second behind Marquette for the number of women veterans that they served...."
Nelson says the VA is providing a full continuum of care for women veterans including gender-specific primary and specialty care, mental health services, disease prevention and screening, maternity care coordination and urgent care services. He says the VA medical center and each community clinic have designated health providers and nurses trained in women's health.
More information is available at a website womenshealth.va. gov or the local VA Women Veteran Program Manager at the facility in Iron Mountain.
