All Veterans are unique, and by the diversity of the very people we serve, we know that health care is not one-size-fits-all. Embracing that diversity in our patients—and those who join our team—ensures that we will be successful in fulfilling our mission.
A new mission statement
Recently, VA adopted a new mission statement: “To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.”
The new mission statement is inclusive of all those who have served in our nation’s military—including female Veterans—as well as Veteran families, caregivers and survivors.
VA currently serves more than 600,000 women Veterans, the fastest growing cohort of Veterans. VA also serves more than 50,000 Veteran caregivers, more than 600,000 Veteran survivors and millions of Veterans who did not serve in combat.
Caring for this most diverse group of Veterans in history requires new ways of thinking to ensure that all who walk through our doors—employees and Veterans alike—feel included in the work that we do.
To accomplish this, we’re merging new ideas with our existing values and making VA a welcome home for employees who believe in our mission.
A new I-DEA
To advance an inclusive environment that values and supports the diverse communities we serve—employees, Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors—and cultivate equitable access to care, benefits and services for all, VA has embraced making inclusion, diversity, equity and access (I-DEA) part of its culture.
- Inclusion: Every individual who enters a VA facility must feel safe, included and valued. We treat all employees, Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors with dignity, integrity and respect to foster a culture of inclusion.
- Diversity: We strive to leverage the strength and uniqueness that defines our Veteran population, our workforce and our country. Diversity is a key driver of growth and innovation that leads to developing new ideas and perspectives and must be embodied across VA.
- Equity: Our goal is to provide everyone, including those who belong to underserved communities, with fair access to health care and benefits, and provide opportunities for our employees to feel safe and nurtured in their roles.
- Access: We work to increase access by proactively creating opportunities. VA has created accommodations and modifications to promote equity, including providing access to home care and educational opportunities, training and jobs worthy of your skills and service.
Embracing new values
At VA, we know that focusing inward is an integral part of making effective changes. We also know that diversity is a strength, and our workforce should be an accurate representation of the Veterans we serve.
To support our workforce, we remain focused on the employee experience and taking the steps necessary to foster an environment where inclusivity and equity are woven into the fabric of our teams.
It is important to us to show our teammates that we are invested in long-lasting and sustainable change. We care about you, we respect your talents, we desire your skills and commitment, and we want you to bring your whole self to work each day as you care for our Veterans.
By embracing I-DEA at VA, we’re welcoming unique perspectives that will help us make a positive change.
Work at VA
Bring your diverse experiences to VA, and make a difference by ensuring that more of our Veterans feel welcome.
- READ more about our commitment to diversity.
- EXPLORE VA’s efforts toward inclusion.
- LEARN about our mission to care for Veterans.
- SEARCH for a VA career near you at the VA Careers web page.
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Providing better outcomes for diverse Veterans means finding ways to reach them, whether on a personal level or on a geographic level.
As a chief of staff, you’ll have many important responsibilities, but also an opportunity to make positive change for our team and the Veterans we serve.
As a geriatrics specialist at VA, your work will have a huge impact on Veterans as they come to rely on VA’s care as they grow older.
I’d rather my health care be a meritocracy based on how well one performs, you know, skills that can alter one’s life.
Hiring based on the intersectionality of one’s race, gender, etc and not skills, will only further harm access to quality Healthcare, in a VA system already hampered by low quality and bad reviews.
we just want the best doctors no matter the color of their skin or where they come from. stop wasting our time
100% agreed
Your comment is awaiting moderation. <<<<<<< this is how you decide if a comment should be posted. If you don't like what is said here, you simply trash it. This is also part of the ongoing distrust with the VA!!! So anyone at the VA, who reads a comment that disagrees with it can simply delete it and it goes nowhere!!
I am sorry, but due to the past ways I have been treated at VA facilities, I do not and cannot trust the VA with my care. Due to the VA’s constant negative attitude towards me as an older Veteran and have many confrontations with facility Directors, VA police, and office personnel, who will never be held accountable for anything, it is shameful that these facilities have become a trigger to my PTSD/TBI issues. The mishandling of my appeal over the last 14 years and the taken away of my service-connected dental after 40 + years makes my trust even worse. The VA itself refuses to take any responsibility for its embedded corruption that harms Veterans every day. If the VA would stop telling these lies and actually do things correctly it would help Veterans TRUST their VA care!!! I don’t and that has created its own issues with me to itself become a trigger to my anxiety and depression attacks. The VA only posts positive comments and refuses to post negative ones, therefore misinforming the truth about the VA standards. 14 years in the appeal process, 4 BVA hearings, 4 BVA remands and still no final decision is wrong!!! My original rating was given in 1979 that VA refuses to accept the reality of the accident I ws involved in, and back pay me properly.
Good stuff. Keep up the good work y’all. Thanks.