VA Puget Sound Health Care System

The VA Puget Sound Health Care System, with divisions in Tacoma (American Lake) and Seattle, is the largest and most comprehensive VA facility in the Pacific Northwest region. The Health Care system is a major referral medical center, serving veterans from Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. Veterans are referred to the health care system's nationally recognized Spinal Cord Injury Center of Excellence; marrow transplant unit; deployment health clinic; radiation therapy program; rehabilitation program; prosthetics and limb loss prevention program; Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center; GRECC; Center of Excellence in substance abuse treatment and education; and HSR&D program. Additional outpatient clinics provide primary care, specialty care, and mental health care at both divisions. Additionally, there are 15 inpatient beds with staff from the American Lake Division stationed at Madigan Army Medical Center. The VA Puget Sound Health Care System manages and operates several Community Based Outpatient Clinics in western Washington to bring primary care closer to veterans. An additional clinic is planned for the South Sound area. The Health Care System also operates a Mobile Medical Unit and makes monthly visits to the rural communities of Aberdeen, Shelton, and Morton

Affiliated with the University of Washington and more than 50 nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, social work, and psychology schools, VAPSHCS trains over 1,590 allied health care professionals each year in audiology and speech pathology, dietetics, radiology, optometry, podiatry, occupational therapy, physical therapy, recreational therapy, psychology, health information management, information technology, medical informatics, and other health care programs. The healthcare system receives more than $33 million in VA and non-VA funding. This strong, diversified base of support maintains the competitive edge of VAPSHCS as a leader in world-class research for such areas as hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer disease, prosthetics and amputee care, rehabilitation, mental health, neurodegenerative disorders, obesity, cancer, and pulmonary diseases. The system also is a polytrauma network site, providing lifelong rehabilitation and care coordination for Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom combat-injured veterans.

Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC): Bellevue, Bremerton, Federal Way, Mount Vernon, North Seattle and Port Angeles.