Wellness Resource Network
Dan Wesinger and Dylan Katz Co-Chair the Wellness Resource Network, which brings together caregivers, clinicians, and individuals who support the social, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness of veterans. Together, we strive to increase veterans’ access to wellness activities and communities. You can check out upcoming events focused on wellness below.
Yoga
Meditation
Fitness & Outdoors
Retreats
In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a Call to Action to catalyze efforts at the community level to build cross-sector partnerships to respond to the “critical need to develop well-coordinated systems of health and social care to better address social needs that can impact health.”
The call is a companion to the U.S. Playbook to Address Social Determinants of Health and highlights the role of community care hubs in facilitating community-based partnerships across sectors to develop and sustain the community-based infrastructure that is necessary to improve coordination between health and social care providers.
The Center for Disease Control’s Strategies for Communities support a public health approach to suicide prevention that uses data to drive decision-making; implements and evaluates multiple prevention strategies to enhance resilience and improve well-being based on the best available evidence; and works to prevent people from becoming suicidal.
Wellness Resource Network Directory
VA Complementary & Integrative Health
The Office of Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation drives VA’s Complementary & Integrative Health policy. The following approaches are approved by the Under Secretary for Health and must be available to VA-enrolled veterans in the facility, via telehealth, or in the community:
VA providers may enter consults to refer patients enrolled at any VA facility to virtual chair yoga classes offered through VA Video Connect by the VA War Related Illness & Injury Center (no referral is needed for weekly phone-in guided meditation). VA Boston offers virtual access to yoga, tai chi, and meditation to enrolled veterans through Ompractice.
Services listed above that are not available in the facility or via telehealth are provided through VA’s Community Care Network (CCN) and through Veterans Care Agreements. Directories of CCN providers in Massachusetts offering CIH approaches are linked below. There are currently no CCN providers listed for yoga or guided imagery.
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VHA Directives articulate the reason for the issue of directives and related issues, in addition to providing key definitions. VHA Directives supersede other national, VISN-level, and facility-level policies or memos issued to the extent they are in conflict. Within VHA Directives, you will find background for a policy and related authorities; exemptions; and offices and individuals responsible for implementation, training, and oversight at the national, regional, and local facility levels.
What is Included in the VA Medical Benefits Package
In general, the entire VA Medical Benefits Package is available to all VA enrolled veterans with specific care provided when it is determined by a VA provider that it aligns with generally accepted practice standards and will promote, preserve, or restore the health of a particular veteran.
Care preserves health if it maintains a veteran’s current quality of life or daily functioning, prevents disease progression, cures disease, or extends the veteran’s life span.
Care promotes health if it enhances a veteran’s quality of life or daily functioning, prevents future disease, or identifies a predisposition for a condition or early disease onset which can be ameliorated to any extent through monitoring or early diagnosis and treatment.
Care restores health if it restores a veteran’s quality of life or daily functioning lost due to illness or injury.
VA Whole Health aims to improve access to patient-centered care. Through Whole Health, providers partner with veterans to develop personalized treatment strategies and plans to optimize their health, healing, and overall sense of wellbeing in alignment with their goals.
Complementary & Integrative Health (CIH) interventions support veterans’ goals for self-care, promoting health and optimizing the impact of conventional services aimed at preserving and restoring the health of veterans experiencing acute problems or managing chronic illness.
An important aspect of Whole Health is the practice of increasing access to care that promotes and preserves health by offering CIH options to veterans and integrating them as a complement to conventional health interventions to support veterans’ self-care and overall sense of wellbeing.
The Under Secretary for Health has identified improving access to patient-centered care as a key priority for VHA. The Office of Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation is responsible for CIH policy and the contents of VHA Directive 1137.
VA providers who would like to offer a veteran a CIH approach not currently included on the VA’s lists of CIH approaches can email a detailed request with clinical justification for the use of the CIH approach to VA’s OPCC & CT.
VA facility and VISN directors may also request consideration of alternative approaches.
Facility directors are responsible for tracking availability and gaps in access for sanctioned CIH approaches at their facilities and for promoting their use in all appropriate treatment settings.
VA established the Integrative Health Coordinating Center to identify and remove barriers to the integration of CIH approaches within the VA, to develop policy and guidance to implement CIH, and to serve as a resource for clinical practices and educate veterans, clinicians, leadership, and staff.
Past Summits & Meetings
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November 17, 2021 – Virtual Resource Network Workshop on Holiday Stress
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December 9, 2020 – Virtual Resource Network Workshop on Holiday Stress
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August 12, 2020 – Virtual Health & Wellness Resource Network Meeting
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July 20, 2017 – Community Summit & VetTogether, hosted by Community Rowing Inc. Supporting our focus on community in July, the Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative launched the Shared Calendar on our website.
The Community Summit showcased programs supporting community health and wellness, including The Mission Continues, Team Rubicon, and JF&CS’s Shoulder to Shoulder program.
After the summit, we had a cookout & VetTogether with Boston Veterans Services and spent some time on the water learning about CRI’s Military Rowing Program.
Key Topics
Developing a living document resource to streamline our support for traditional healthcare providers to address social determinants of heath through proactive referrals
Supporting the development of a coordinated care network to facilitate efficient referrals and warm handoffs (Brighton Marine has been piloting Coordinated Veterans Services using the UniteUS network platform––now part of the broader Unite Massachusetts network
Breaking down institutional barriers and information silos to ensure all service members, veterans, and their families are connected early with social care and wellness opportunities
Increasing the number of service members, veterans, and families accessing services and support for health and wellness
Forming affinity groups to organize and facilitate wellness community summits on relevant topics and issues and to collect and share information and resources on this page and in connection with Community and Advocacy resource networks
Submitting events to the shared calendar using the tag #wellness and other tags so they appear above and on relevant resource or regional pages, including #yoga, #meditation, #tai-chi, #fitness, #community, and #retreats.
Submitting resources to the shared Wellness Resource Tracker to incorporate into the relevant resource pages and share with service providers