The Veterans Health Administration San Diego Healthcare System continually strives to expand services, access
by Brett Callwood
In addition to providing wide-ranging hospital and clinical care, the VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) endeavors to increase access to healthcare for all who served, including specialized services for the unhoused, women and those who’ve sustained life-altering injuries.
“With a large area to cover, including both San Diego and Imperial Counties, we are ever mindful of veteran access to health care,” says VASDHS Director Dr. Frank Pearson. “Our main facility is the Jennifer Moreno VA Medical Center in La Jolla, but we also expand outward with VA Clinics in Chula Vista, Escondido, Imperial Valley, Kearny Mesa, Oceanside, Rio and Sorrento Valley.”
Pearson, a retired US Navy Captain who held administrative roles at several naval hospitals and as Director of the VA Syracuse Healthcare System before landing in his current position in 2023, says VA medical services also extend outside of its facilities.
“We continue to expand access to women veteran health care to include primary care, gynecology, maternity care, ultrasounds and mammograms, mental health care and counseling, and lifestyle wellness services.”
Dr. Frank Pearson, Director, Veterans Health Administration San Diego Healthcare System
“We also take some of our healthcare resources and services on the road with a new mobile medical unit van,” he says. “This unit serves primarily homeless veterans as it rotates at several locations around the area on Fridays of each week. We recently partnered with San Diego MTS [Metropolitan Transit System] to add several high-traffic trolley stations to the rotation.”
VASDHS also provides services for homeless Veterans through the VA Supportive Housing (VASH) program, which recently reached the impressive milestone of over 2,000 Veterans permanently housed in 2024. VA San Diego and the Department of Housing and Urban Development partner to secure HUD-VASH vouchers to assist with rental housing payments for veterans in need.
Pearson notes that the fastest-growing subset of the population VASDHS serves are female veterans, with 12.6 percent of enrollees being women. “We continue to expand access to women veteran health care to include primary care, gynecology, maternity care, ultrasounds and mammograms, mental health care and counseling, and lifestyle wellness services,” he said.
The La Jolla Jennifer Moreno VA Medical Center is home to a Spinal Cord Injury and Associated Disorders (SCI/D) Rehabilitation Services Center, one of 25 such VA hubs across the country. It also offers diverse mental health care using evidence-based treatments with increased emphasis on post-traumatic stress and substance use disorders.
Pearson touted VA San Diego’s National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic, a rehabilitative and educational hands-on sporting event for military veterans from across the country who have a range of disabilities—Pearson mentioned amputations, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, polytrauma, visual impairments, multiple sclerosis, cerebrovascular accidents with residual deficits, burns, and spinal cord injuries as some of the challenges these vets face.
VASDHS has been awarded a top 5-Star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for two successive years due to the quality of its care.
“We are one of six 5-Star Hospitals in San Diego county, one of 36 California 5-Star Hospitals, and one of 381 5-Star Hospitals nationwide,” Pearson says. Additionally, on Aug 29, 2024, VASDHS was ranked by Becker’s Hospital Review as seventh in the entire country for the prevention of death following heart attack.
Pearson’s motto: “You come to VA San Diego and leave better than when you arrive! That’s our duty.”
For more information about VA San Diego Healthcare System facilities and services, visit www.va.gov/san-diego-health-care/
