In an article published in the Veterans Administration’s newsletter “The Rural Connection Spring 2016” www.ruralhealth.va.gov/news, state governments through the years have established State Veterans Homes (SVH). SVHs primarily help veterans disabled by age, disease, and injury but are incapable of earning a living. More than half of the state-run SVHs are located in rural communities.
SVHs can provide three levels of care such as nursing home care, domiciliary care, and/or adult day healthcare. Today, through the Veteran Health Administration’s (VHA) www.va.gov/health SVH Telehealth initiative, SVHS offers VHA telehealth services to connect residents with their VA providers and promotes continuity of primary, specialty, and mental healthcare.
The SVH Telehealth Initiative’s goals are to:
- Increase access to care for rural veterans
- Expand telehealth to additional SVHs
- Overcome transportation barriers that may exist for SVH veterans with fragility or chronic debilitating disease since it is difficult for these veterans to travel long distances to VAMCs or CBOCs
- Enhance community collaboration
In 2015, 19,000 veterans were in SVH facilities. Fourteen rural SVHs in four different Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) and eight states are currently involved in the SVH Telehealth initiative. This number is expected to expand in fiscal years 2017 and 2018.