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Women Veterans COMMITTEE REPORT
Continuing Resolutions

BY MARSHA FOUR, CHAIR
In reviewing the Convention Resolutions, I would like to report that the committee continues to evaluate relevancy, consider updates, and identify new matters that will be needed at our next National Convention.

WV-2-05 Medical Treatment of Women Veterans by DVA and WV-4-05 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Women Veterans Program Managers (WVPM): The committee has supplied testimony to the VA on three occasions in which these two Resolutions have been included. When one considers the number of women veterans currently using the VA and those who are anticipated to use it, it is incomprehensible that the VA does not have full-service women’s health clinics at every medical center in the country.

In my last report, I made reference to the increased FTE needed for the WVPMs in the VA Medical Centers. The duties, responsibilities, advocacy, oversight, and reporting of the VA Women Veteran Program Managers, as defined in their VA handbook, are substantial. We believe this is critical in coordinating care, outreach, advocacy, and oversight for all women veteran programs. This certainly includes homeless women veterans, who often have no advocates.

WV-3-05 Support for Women Veterans is a continuing Resolution that speaks to the commitment VVA has made to women veterans and to the responsibility that each member and leader at every level of the organization has in keeping that commitment.

In this vein, the committee continues to provide each State Council president with information packets on women veterans twice a year. This committee also has been working with other national committees in our ongoing effort to enhance VVA’s commitment in this arena. Women Veterans Committee members have collaborated with other committees on many projects, articles, and issue-focused papers bringing light to women veterans’ issues. The latest of these is the PTSD Committee resource flier that became available on Veterans Day. We have plans to coordinate another informational resource paper on women veterans and their mental health care issues and needs.

Please continue to check for updates on the 2008 VA Women Veterans’ Summit being held this June. The most current information can be found on the Center for Women Veterans’ web page under “Health Care” at www.va.gov

Committee members: Marsha Four, Chair; Sandy Miller, Vice Chair; Judy Ballentine, Tom Berger, Connie Christensen, Billee Culin, Leslie DeLong, Sara McVicker, Carol Schetrompf, Beverly Stewart, John Wallace, Sandi Wilson; Special Adviser: Elaine Simmons; Staff Liaison: Juanishia Lee.