BALTIMORE-- For many veterans with schizophrenia, deficits in social skills commonly associated with the disorder can make maintaining relationships and achieving personal goals extremely challenging. The VA’s Social Skills Training (SST) program helps these veterans acquire the skills they need to effectively engage in social interactions, set and reach goals and take critical steps on the road to recovery.

CHARLESTON, SC — With bariatric surgery becoming more common and reliable, VA medical centers are employing the treatment more often in patients previously unable to lose weight and reverse co-morbidities associated with obesity.

PROVIDENCE, RI -- An overlap of services between the VA and some Medicare managed-care plans is costly for the federal government, which is effectively double-paying for the same services. A new study estimates the cost as $3.2 billion in 2009 alone.

WASHINGTON — The criteria to obtain VA disability benefits for sexual assault is “completely unrealistic” for most survivors to meet, advocates told a congressional committee at a recent hearing.

Cardiovascular disease risk factors often are comorbid with serious mental illnesses (SMI) such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder, yet these patients often don’t receive necessary care for those chronic conditions.

While clinicians who work directly with patients may serve the healthcare needs of veterans, those who do behind-the-scenes research also play a critical role.

Achieving a certain level of physical fitness can improve survival rates of patients with diabetes who also have left ventricle hypertrophy (LVH), according to a new study.¹