Milwaukee's VA Medical Center highlights health care resources for female veterans

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) --- The Milwaukee VA Medical Center is marking 100 years of health care for female veterans.

A resource fair was held Friday afternoon to extend valuable information to veterans who needed it. "Even though I was already employed at the Milwaukee VA, I wasn't even aware that I was qualified or eligible to get VA care," said Darci Greuel.

Greuel is a veteran, a nurse, and Post 9/11 Military to VA Program Manager. "In my job, we do a lot of outreach in the community and to military units and somehow after you do all of the outreach and getting to people and tell them all about things, somebody shows up who never heard about something," she said. Since the 1920's, the VA has provided health care resources to female veterans, but the focus was largely on males.

"Historically, because there weren't very many women in the military, the focus was just really the men. It was always on the men. The men serving, the men getting the benefits," said Greuel.

However, things began to change once women began making strikes in military history.

"The VA was able to recognize the importance of providing the same care and benefits if not more and improved for our women veterans," she said.

Katie Wisniewski is the Milwaukee VA Women's Health Program Manager. She spoke to CBS 58 about the importance of extending these resources and letting everyone know about what's provided here.

"We are here to celebrate all our female veterans. To show them all the resources that we offer. How our health care is revolutionized. All the new services that we never had before here both internal and external in the community," she said.

A variety of services were on display. Services now include gynecological care, breast and cervical cancer screenings, contraceptive counseling and menopause management, just to name a few.

There is also support for veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, along with other mental health resources.

The VA continues working to improve the quality of care provided as female veterans making up the fastest growing segment of the veteran population.

"I'm very honored to say that the Milwaukee VA was one of the first places for women to get their health care here in the tuberculosis home up on the hill and at that time there was about 52,000 veterans," said Wisniewski.

There are now more than two million women veterans in the U.S. now.

Click here to learn more about the women's health program at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center.