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A 'Whole Health' Approach With our Veterans (FCL Nov. 11)

From opioid overuse to mental health, the VA’s Whole Health Approach Helps Veterans Achieve and Maintain Their Best Health and Well-Being

The problems of opioid overuse, chronic pain, and persistent mental health challenges in the lives of our Veterans have prompted the Veterans Health Administration to begin a massive cultural transformation from a largely problem-based disease care system to a patient-centered system focused more broadly on supporting health and well-being, as well as managing disease. The key to this transformation is the development and implementation of the Whole Health System.

Fueled by the commitment to deliver and support care that is centered on each Veteran and empowers them to achieve and maintain the best all-around health and well-being possible, the Whole Health System is being rapidly adopted by many VA health care facilities throughout the country.

VA’s Whole Health approach starts with a simple question: What matters most to you? From here, VA professionals work in partnership with Veterans to explore their life mission, values, and goals. 

This exploration allows Veterans to create a Personal Health Plan which they can use as a structure to work towards an answer to the question, What matters most to you? The System then supports the Veteran in carrying out that plan with peer-led groups, whole health clinical care, and the availability of complementary and integrative approaches like acupuncture, meditation, yoga, and tai chi.

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