The history of the United States is full of wars fought and conflicts entered. It’s made up of the stories of service members, Veterans and the people who support their efforts. The founding of VA is one of those stories. This July, VA celebrates its 94th birthday.

On July 21, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed an executive order elevating the Veterans Bureau to a federal administration, creating the Veterans Administration. At that time, the system comprised 54 hospitals, 4.7 million living Veterans and 31,600 employees.

VA has grown substantially over the years. It is now the largest integrated health care network in the United States with 1,255 health care facilities serving 9 million enrolled Veterans each year. Since the beginning, research has been a core component of VA’s work.

VA conducted the first decisive trials of effective treatment for tuberculosis, developed the concept of CT scanning, demonstrated the relationship between smoking and lung cancer and helped develop a practical, implantable cardiac pacemaker.

In recent years, that research has reached new heights thanks to more than a million Veterans who have joined VA’s Million Veteran Program.

The research continues with MVP

Founded in 2011, MVP’s initial research studies focused on conditions like heart and kidney disease, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Gulf War Illness and substance use. Now, researchers use MVP data to study many health conditions, including:

  • Traumatic brain injury.
  • Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia.
  • Cancers like breast cancer & prostate cancer.
  • Heart disease.
  • Endometriosis.
  • Osteoarthritis.
  • Tinnitus.
  • Kidney disease.
  • Mental health conditions.

The story of MVP’s impact is still being written. Each year, researchers using MVP data are making groundbreaking discoveries in diverse populations, discoveries that will lead to better detection, prevention and treatments for conditions that matter to Veterans like you.

To learn more about MVP’s research over the years, visit MVP’s Science Corner.

Join MVP to support the future of health care research

More than 1,000,000 Veterans have joined MVP, each putting us one step closer to transforming personalized health care for all Veterans and ultimately all Americans. “If you believe in service above self, if you believe in taking care of others, if you believe that the next generation deserves the best, then you have to believe in research,” said Veteran Ubon Mendie when asked why he joined MVP.

You can learn more about MVP or join today. You can also call 866-441-6075 to make an appointment at a participating VA facility. You don’t need to receive your care at VA to participate.

Topics in this story

MIllion Veteran Program

Leave a comment

The comments section is for opinions and feedback on this particular article; this is not a customer support channel. If you are looking for assistance, please visit Ask VA or call 1-800-698-2411. Please, never put personally identifiable information (SSAN, address, phone number, etc.) or protected health information into the form — it will be deleted for your protection.

2 Comments

  1. Rafael Rivera Rodriguez July 11, 2024 at 18:02

    It is a great program, I am thankful for having been given the opportunity to join MVP years ago and I certainly hope that all veterans join a free program that may help other veterans.

  2. Glenn Porter July 11, 2024 at 17:08

    Are there opportunities to join MVP? I have the following that may help others. Osteoarthritis – Poly Neuropathy – Pulmonary Disease- Asthma (COPD Overlap Syndrome?)- Rhinitis – Diverticulosis – Chronic Kidney Disease – Chronic Lower Back Pain – Chronic Neck Pain – Migraines Secondary to Tinnitus – Renal Calculus – Actinic Keratosis – Cervical Myofascial Pain, Chronic Sinusitis – Voice Dysphonia – Osteopenia – Dysphagia – moderate cortical thinning of both kidneys – Sinus Bradycardia I may be the perfect test dummy and I am a Marine

Comments are closed.

More Stories