Va finger lakes selected as a pilot | va finger lakes health care | veterans affairs

PRESS RELEASE December 16, 2021 Rochester , NY — VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System selected by the Department of Veterans Affairs to be one of ten sites to pilot a program to improve

services for Veterans who have experienced or experiencing intimate partner violence or sexual assault. WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs recently initiated a pilot program to

improve services for Veterans who have experienced or are experiencing intimate partner violence or sexual assault. The two-year initiative focuses on strengthening community partnerships,

training for VA staff and community partners, identifying effective clinical interventions and providing outreach to underserved populations. “Approximately one in three women and one in

four men in the general population report experiencing intimate partner violence,” said VA Management and Social Work Executive Director Jill Debord. “Research by VA’s National Center for

posttraumatic stress disorder shows Veterans may be disproportionally impacted by IPV.” The pilot program stems from the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and

Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, Title 5 of the Deborah Sampson Act. This initiative allows opportunity to better understand and address intimate partner violence and sexual assault among

the Veteran population. Veterans who have experienced or are experiencing IPV are encouraged to contact an Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program Coordinator at the nearest VA medical

center or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or 800-787-3224 (TTY). The following VAMCs are participating: • VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System in Bath and

Canandaigua, N.Y. • North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System in Gainesville and Lake City, Fla. • Tennessee Valley Healthcare System in Nashville and Murfreesboro, Tenn. • Jesse

Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, Ill. • Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in Little Rock, Ark. • VA Salt Lake City Health Care System in Salt Lake City, Utah. • Cheyenne VA

Medical Center in Cheyenne, Wyo. • Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Walla Walla, Wash. • VA Pacific Islands Health Care System in Honolulu, Hawaii. • Southern Arizona VA

Health Care System in Tucson, Ariz. For more information about available supportive services, visit VA’s Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program or VA’s Military Sexual Trauma Program.

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