Bill Would Require VA To Adapt To Treat Women

A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday introduced legislation that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to adapt in an attempt to improve care for female veterans, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Since 2001, 90,000 women have served in the military. The number of female soldiers accessing VA care is expected to double in the next five years, according to the Daily News.

The legislation would require each VA facility to have at least one women's health expert on staff; authorize several studies on the physical, mental and reproductive health of women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan; and examine the barriers women face in accessing care at male-dominated VA clinics. The bill also would require VA mental health professionals to be trained to treat women who have been sexually assaulted.

According to the bill's sponsors, women face more stress when they return from war and "are thrust back into their roles as caregivers without much of a transition," the Daily News reports. The bill's sponsors include Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) (Bolstad, Anchorage Daily News, 4/3).


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