VA Releases New PSA Targeting Women Veterans

pan>)--The Department of Veterans Affairs has developed a new public service
announcement (PSA) to let women Veterans know theyve come to The Right
Place when seeking VA health care.
“We want to send a very clear message to women Veterans that VA is here
to meet your health care needs”
We want to send a very clear message to women Veterans that VA is here
to meet your health care needs, said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric
K. Shinseki. It is important that women Veterans receive the
high-quality health care and benefits they have earned through their
service.
The number of women using VA health care has doubled in the past decade
and that number is expected to double again soon. The 30-second video
PSA, produced by VAs Womens Health Services office, addresses key
themes defined by Secretary Shinseki.
Key messages in the PSA include: assuring women Veterans that VA is
ready to serve them; encouraging viewers to rethink assumptions that all
Veterans are male; and reminding Americans that women Veterans are
coming home, separating from service, or returning to Guard or Reserve
status.
The PSA was developed for nationwide release along with a new employee
awareness video created as part of VAs ongoing efforts to change its
culture to be more understanding and accommodating of women Veterans. It
also promotes the recognition of women Veterans around Veterans Day,
honoring their service to our country.
Not all women who served their country identify as Veterans and many
women Veterans are unaware that VA offers high quality womens health
care, said Dr. Robert Petzel, Undersecretary for Health, Veterans
Health Administration. One of the most important aspects of our efforts
to serve women Veterans is to make sure each one of them knows were
here.
Women serve in every branch of the military, representing 15 percent of
todays active duty military and nearly 18 percent of National Guard and
Reserve forces. By 2020, VA estimates women Veterans will constitute 10
percent of the Veteran population.
VA is disseminating its culture-of-change message to employees and
Veterans through a multi-faceted campaign, which includes a toolkit for
outreach to women Veterans. To access additional campaign materials,
visit www.womenshealth.va.gov/culture_change.asp.
To access the toolkit, visit www.womenshealth.va.gov/toolkits.asp.
The PSA is available for viewing on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5FGlZ2uYiU
and www.womenshealth.va.gov.
Broadcast organizations interested in obtaining a broadcast-quality
version of the PSA can download it by accessing the following link: https://downloads.va.gov/files/VA_OPIA/VDPDVAPSA/,
then right clicking on VDPDVAPSA5H.mov and selecting save target as.
Visit www.va.gov/womenvet
and www.womenshealth.va.gov
to learn more about VA programs and services for women Veterans.

Information Source: Business Wire