Health Care for Women Veterans
On this episode of The Dog Tag, Matt Elledge talks with Pam Maercklein, the Women Veterans Healthcare Liaison for the Women Veterans Program at the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC). Pam served eight years in the United States Air Force and has a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Texas at Austin. She’s worked at the Texas Veterans Commission since 2008 and assists Women Veterans with their health care needs.
Matt and Pam dive deep into the issues that affect Women Veterans’ physical and mental well-being including maternity care, military sexual trauma, post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and more. If you are a Woman Veteran, or know one, please listen to this podcast and find detailed insights about health care for the brave women who have served in our nation’s military forces.
Show Notes:
Introduction. [:48]
How the Women Veterans Program at the TVC helps Women Veterans. [2:24]
How Pam advocates for Women Veterans within the VA Health Care System. [3:11]
The eligibility requirements for VA Health Care. [5:37]
Health care statistics for Women Veterans. [10:18]
How the VA provides maternity care to Women Veterans. [11:52]
How health care challenges are sometimes different for Women Veterans versus male Veterans. [14:39]
Most common health care issues for Women Veterans. [20:30]
Types of health care services Women Veterans can expect from the VA. [23:10]
How Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) affects Women Veterans. [24:58]
Military Sexual Trauma (MST) and PTSD in Women Veterans. [28:00]
How to get a VA service-connected disability rating for MST. [30:01]
Suicide rates among Women Veterans. [34:51]
Is the VA providing better health care to Women Veterans? [37:49]
Other organizations that support Women Veterans. [40:39]
Homeless Women Veterans. [42:32]
Assistance for Women Veterans in rural areas. [45:01]
Women Veterans mentoring other Women Veterans. [46:29]
Join the Texas Women Veterans Professional Network. [49:26]
Contact the TVC Women Veterans Program at texaswomenvets@tvc.texas.gov or call 1–800–252–8387.
- Stay tuned for our next podcast: Home Improvement Loans for Veterans & Military
- Listen to our previous podcast: Employment for Women Veterans
Helpful Resources:
VA Women Veteran Program Managers
TVC Claims Representation & Counseling
Disabled American Veterans (DAV)
Related Podcasts:
The Women Veterans Program at the Texas Veterans Commission
Unlocking VA Disability Claims Part 1
Unlocking VA Disability Claims Part 2
Listen to this podcast on iTunes or SoundCloud.
The Dog Tag® is brought to you by the Texas Veterans Land Board and the Texas Veterans Commission. Find more episodes at TexasVeteransPodcast.com. If you have questions about this topic, or suggestions for other podcast topics, call 1–800–252-VETS or email vlbinfo@glo.texas.gov. Visit TexasVeterans.com to find out more about your benefits!
