Stories | VA Minneapolis Health Care | Veterans Affairs

Stories Minneapolis VA Health Care System top stories.

"I am grateful for my whole life, my parents, aunts, uncles, God, all my friends, and I would do it all over again."

Here we are — another year. Another chance to decide what really matters in your life!

More than 150 people squished into a conference room or joined virtually for Dr. Michael D. Levitt’s final Grand Rounds: “A Career in Review and Celebration” at the Minneapolis VA on Dec. 1,

2023.

When you stop smoking, you feel the benefits almost immediately, no matter how long you’ve smoked.

“We have this great privilege to be able to educate our future and really shape who they become as providers and role model the importance of the highest quality of care…where we ensure the

very highest quality and maintain patient safety for our Veterans,” said Joanne Donnelly.

Minneapolis VA is leading the way in stroke care for Veterans. It is the first Veteran’s hospital to provide state-of-the-art stroke care on two major fronts: 1.) Stroke reversing using the

clot busting medication Tenecteplase and 2.) Providing TeleStroke care via the VA National TeleStroke Program.

"My first step was one inch. It was one step to one more step."

Like many medical students, Kersten Schwanz, MD, had multiple areas of medical specialty she could choose for her career. Many specialties interested her, but the one thing this former

college athlete knew was she wanted to work with athletes.

VA’s Behavioral Recovery Outreach teams work to reduce distress behaviors in Veterans with dementia.

Alexander Senk, MD, Acting Director, Spinal Cord Injury and Disorder, first came to the Minneapolis VA Health Care System as a physician resident where he worked on the spinal cord injury

unit and the polytrauma center.