Women Veterans’ preventive health care resources

You stay on top of your to-do list, but what about your preventive health checklist?

Things like regular checkups, screenings and immunizations can help you stay healthy. Common health conditions among women Veterans, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and some cancers, can be more easily treated when caught early.

Preventive health screenings can catch these conditions before they become worse. Some concerns like type 2 diabetes may even be prevented with regular checks and healthy habits.

Preventing illness is always better than treating illness

Prevention is overall less costly, takes less time, is less painful, and is less invasive than treatment.

Create your personal preventive health plan

Work with your VA primary care provider to create your personal preventive health plan to maintain your best health. This plan can address the health concerns that are important to you, focusing on things like cancer prevention, mental health and heart health. Your VA provider will suggest checkups and screenings based on your needs, age, risk factors and family history.

In addition to regular wellness checks, healthy habits can help you manage or prevent some health conditions, such as heart disease, which is the number one cause of death of adults in the U.S.

Here are healthy habits you can try at home:

• Eat a healthy and balanced diet. Check out the Healthy Teaching Kitchen Program for cooking classes, healthy recipes, nutrition information and other resources.
• If you smoke, stop. Try these tobacco cessation resources.
• Exercise regularly. You may like VA’s MOVE Weight Management Program. Try a mindfulness practice like yoga or tai chi, available through VA Whole Health, which can help your physical and mental health.

Check out women Veterans’ preventive health checklist

VA has created a preventive health checklist to help you keep your health in check. On the front is a checklist of services organized by age, and on the back is an area to fill in your health records. Be sure to talk with your VA health care provider to confirm which preventive health tests, screenings, and services are right for you.

If you don’t have a VA health care provider or you’re not sure where to start, you can call, text or chat online with the Women Veterans Call Center at 855-829-6636 to get help and find available resources and services in your area.

Trained women representatives can also help you with issues such as:

• Enrolling in VA health care if you have not already;
• Setting up a medical appointment in your area;
• Answering questions about eligibility (including questions about disability ratings) and other VA benefits, like employment, education and home loans.

Representatives are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET, and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET.

Whether you need a mammogram, bone density scan, Pap test or colonoscopy, you can turn to VA Women’s Health for the tools you need to stay up to date on all your preventive health needs.