Name
#173 Expanding Care for Veterans with Potential Chemical Warfare Agent Exposure: A Coordinated Effort between the Chemical Warfare Agent (CWA) and Veterans Exposure Team – Health Outcomes Military Exposures (VET-HOME) Programs
Speakers
Content Presented on Behalf of
VHA/VA
Services/Agencies represented
Veterans Health Administration/Veterans Affairs (VHA/VA)
Session Type
Posters
Room#/Location
Prince Georges Exhibit Hall A/B
Focus Areas/Topics
Clinical Care, Trending/Hot Topics or Other not listed
Learning Outcomes
1. Upon completion, the participant will be able to list potential CWA exposures and the different phases of the CWA program.
2. Upon completion, the participant will be able to summarize key aspects of the VET-HOME program, such as its mission, structure, and utilization of telehealth.
3. Upon completion, the participant will be able to describe how the CWA and VET-HOME programs expanded care for CWA Veterans in the CWA program.
2. Upon completion, the participant will be able to summarize key aspects of the VET-HOME program, such as its mission, structure, and utilization of telehealth.
3. Upon completion, the participant will be able to describe how the CWA and VET-HOME programs expanded care for CWA Veterans in the CWA program.
Session Currently Live
Description
This poster will cover the coordinated effort between the CWA and VET-HOME programs to expand care for Veterans with potential CWA exposures. The CWA program was created by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs in 2015 after a New York Times article in 2015 highlighted chemical warfare agent exposures experienced by service members in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. The VET-HOME program, VA’s new national hub for Veterans with military environmental exposures, was created in 2023. This session will review how utilization of VET-HOME’s expertise in military environmental exposures aided in the implementation of the next phase of the CWA program. Additionally, the session will involve discussions of how the implementation enhanced care coordination for Veterans with potential CWA exposure, facilitated data collection for future research, and contributed to improved understanding of long-term health effects. We will also discuss how current VET-HOME practices impacted our ability to meet CWA Veterans’ needs.