Women Veterans
Hines VA is committed to meeting the unique needs of Women Veterans by delivering the highest quality comprehensive health care to each woman, while offering her privacy, dignity and sensitivity to gender-specific needs. The Medical Director for the Women's Veterans Program and the Women Veterans Program Manager (WVPM) oversees the quality of the health care you are provided and are ready to assist you in getting timely access to your health care.
Hepsi Kalapala, M.D.
Medical Director
Women Veterans Program
Women’s health care is also provided at our Community Based Outpatient Clinics in Aurora, Hoffman Estates, LaSalle, Kankakee, Oak Lawn and Joliet.
Eligibility
Each Veteran is unique. Call 1-800-827-1000 or 708-202-8838, for help determining your individual eligibility status.
Tiny Boots Child Care Program
Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago and VA have partnered to connect Illinois Veterans to quality child care at no cost while attending scheduled medical and counseling appointments, as well as job interviews. The program, called Tiny Boots, is funded through a grant from the IDVA Vet Cash Grant Program that is part of the Illinois Lottery. The Vet Cash ticket launched in 2006 as the first lottery game in the country to designate 100-percent of net proceeds to Veterans.
Eligibility requirements include:
- Must be an Illinois Veteran
- Have a verifiable medical appointment or job interview
- Notify the YWCA of appointments at least 1 week in advance
Veterans can contact the YWCA at 630-580-3199 or via email at wecareforourvets@ywcachicago.org and apply at www.ywcachicago.org.
The Women's Health Center offers a range of co-located services
- Comprehensive primary care.
- Urogynecology – a complete range of treatment options for women with urinary incontinence (leakage), bowel incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse and fistula. We offer pelvic physical therapy, nonsurgical options, and also minimally invasive surgical approaches including robotic-assisted surgery and vaginal surgery.
- Gynecology services including major and minor surgeries provided onsite.
- robotic-assisted minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery.
- sterilization by tubal ligation or Essure® procedure.
- colposcopy (investigation of abnormal pap smears).
- cone (LEEP) procedures (treatment of cervical abnormalities).
- endometrial ablation (treatment of abnormal bleeding).
- evaluation of chronic pelvic pain.
- a full range of reproductive health options (including IUDs, birth control pills, NuvaRing®,Implanon®, sterilization).
- menopausal care including hormone replacement therapy.
- Acupuncture.
- Mental health services.
- Nutrition services.
- Social work services.
- Homeless program triage services: linking at-risk and homeless women veterans to resources in the community and within the Hines Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Program.
- PharmD services.
- Monthly newsletter and brochures.
For Women Veterans, VA is Here
Women Veteran Program Managers are available at each VA Medical Center nationwide to assist women Veterans and coordinate services. Women Veterans who are interested in receiving care at VA should contact the nearest VA Medical Center.
Women Veterans are assigned to a designated Women’s Health Primary Care Provider who can provide general primary care and is specially trained or experienced in women’s care.
Whole Health - It's All About You
VA’s Whole Health System offers women Veterans proactive and personalized health care—empowering you to achieve your greatest level of health and well-being. Whole Health means the Whole You. From integrative health approaches like stress reduction, nutrition, and health coaching, to traditional clinical care and complementary health approaches—your journey to Whole Health starts here.
Well-Being Programs
Proactive, integrative health approaches such as:
- Health coaching
- Mind-body therapies and stress reduction
- Mindfulness
- Nutrition and weight management
- Peer support and community resources
- Programs to stop spoking
- Physical therapy and chiropractic services
General Health
You will be at the center of a Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT). A provider, nurse, and others will engage with you to manage your health care.
- Primary care: includes general medical care for acute and chronic conditions, such as chronic pain, high blood pressure, and diabetes
- Preventive care: includes immunizations and cancer screenings, such as mammogram, Pap, and colonoscopy
- Gender-specific care
- Birth control
- Family planning and preconception counseling
- Maternity and newborn care (first 7 days after birth)
- Osteoporosis screening and management
Gynecology Health Services
Evaluation and treatment for:
- Abnormal Pap test
- Abnormal uterine bleeding
- Infertility
- Pelvic pain
- Gynecologic cancers
Mental Health
Evaluation, counseling, and treatment for:
- Depression, mood, and anxiety disorders
- Alcohol and drug use and addiction
- Coping with illness
- Intimate partner violence/sexual and domestic abuse
- Military sexual trauma (MST)
- Parenting and caregiver concerns
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Stress adjustment from deployment
Specialty Care
- Management of chronic or complex conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and fibromyalgia, as well as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis
- Surgery programs available at most Medical Centers
- Rehabilitation, homebound, and long-term care VA referrals are given to those in need of rehabilitation therapies, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy
VA referrals are given to those in need of rehabilitation therapies, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, exercise therapy, recreational therapy, and vocational therapy.
