 Show Your Support!
- Register your organization to march in the Veterans Day Parade. Contact the Center for Development and Civic Engagement via email vhaatgcdce@va.gov or call 404.728.7728.
- Show your support from the sidelines. All community members are encouraged to line the campus grounds in support of local Veterans.
For more: VA Atlanta Health Care | Veterans Day Celebration
Join the Atlanta VAHCS Executive Leadership Team and staff for quarterly updates, participate in the Veterans and VA Open Forum, and learn more about upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. Add these dates to your calendar, join in person or online via MS Teams.
- Dec 20, 2024, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
- Mar 28, 2025, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
- Jun 27, 2025, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
- Sep 26, 2025, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
For more, visit: Events | VA Atlanta Health Care | Veterans Affairs
 According to Dr. Kelly Skelton, Atlanta VA Health Care System Section Chief of Acute Mental Health Services, recent research into posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and service animals paved the way for the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) for Veterans Therapy Act.
The legislation enacted in August 2021, requires the VA to conduct a five-year pilot program to provide canine training, conducted alongside a partnership with a local Service-Dog Organization, to eligible Veterans diagnosed with PTSD as an element of a complementary and integrative health program.
“The VA has many effective treatments for PTSD and is looking at service dog training as an adjunct to those options to ensure Veterans have access to resources that may improve their well-being and help them thrive,” said Skelton.
Veterans participating in the program will have the opportunity to train potential future service dogs with the goal of helping Veterans manage their PTSD symptoms.
The pilot program will be offered at the following five VA medical centers:
- Anchorage, Alaska.
- Asheville, N.C.
- Palo Alto, Calif.
- San Antonio, Texas.
- West Palm Beach, Fla.
Clinicians at the pilot sites will determine the eligibility of Veterans interested in the pilot program. Agreements with the participating organizations that will furnish the training have not yet been finalized.
Visit Implementation of the PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act for information on the PAWS Pilot program and timeline.
For more Atlanta VAHCS web stories, visit: Stories | VA Atlanta Health Care | Veterans Affairs
 VHA’s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning team has published the 2024 VHA State of Innovation (SOI) report. The SOI report is VHA Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning’s (OHIL) annual publication that showcases innovative work happening across the Nation.
These innovations are supporting VA’s efforts to deliver more care to more Veterans than any time in our history.
This year, AVAHCS leadership is proud to share that it includes a High-risk Eye and Limb Preservation Program (HELPP) - Developed by Dr. Nichol Salvo, Chief of Podiatry at the Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center, and available at one facility with plans to expand to three more with support from VHA’s Office of Rural Health.
HELPP leverages former military medics or corpsmen called Intermediate Care Technicians (ICTs), to provide Veterans in rural areas with podiatry care. For Veterans with diabetes, nail and callus care services can reduce the risk of serious consequences such as limb amputation. ICTs deploy to rural community-based outpatient clinics, reducing wait times and bringing care closer to Veterans’ homes. Read more about this new initiative on page 21 of the 2024 VHA State of Innovation report.
According to the VHA Innovation Ecosystem team, “Dr. Salvo has been incredible to work with as one of our VHA Innovation Ecosystem Fellows, and we’re proud of her achievements this year!”
Dr. Salvo recently received a Service to the Citizen Award. Read more here: Nichol Salvo | STTC Awards (servicetothecitizen.org)
 
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