Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center
Local liaisons help soldiers transition from Military to VA care
May 4, 2017
Local liaisons help soldiers transition from Military to VA care
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Since 2003, VA has collaborated with the Department of Defense to transition the health care of ill or injured active duty service members and Veterans from military treatment facilities to VA facilities by assigning VA Liaisons for Health Care at major military facilities.
“VA Liaisons are uniquely positioned to coordinate care and improve transitions,” said Glen Windley, program manager for Transition and Care Management at Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center. “We have participated in the VA Liaison Program since 2004. We currently have two liaisons assigned to Ft. Gordon.”
Those liaisons -- Doris Nelson, LCSW, and Patricia Welton, LMSW – assist in transferring medical care from Eisenhower Army Medical Center to the gaining VA medical center. If a soldier stays in Augusta, the liaisons would send the referral packet to Windley at Charlie Norwood. This referral process between VA Liaisons and program managers occurs at VA medical centers across the country.
“While the VA Liaison program was originally established to transition military personnel returning from theaters of combat, VA Liaisons now transition other active duty military personnel and Veterans who are ill or injured and transitioning to VA,” Windley said. “This significant change includes expanding the scope beyond combat ill or injured and training accidents to include all active duty military personnel transitioning to VA health care.”
For more about Charlie Norwood’s Transition and Care program, or to find out more about how the VA liaisons work, call Glen Windley at 706-733-0188 ext. 5754.
