Key Points in the Report

Connecting Veterans, Families, and Caregivers to the Support They Need

• A coordinated statewide effort can help bridge the gaps Veterans, families, and caregivers can face in finding, accessing, and sustaining the services and supports available to them.
• Increased funding for the North Carolina Departments of Military and Veterans Affairs, Administration, and Health and Human Services for specific purposes can support coordinated efforts to bridge those gaps.
• Community-level attention and action can improve Veteran and family well-being and connection to resources.

Ensuring Access to Community-Based Health Care for North Carolina's Veterans

• Less than half of Veterans are enrolled in the VA Health Care System.
• There are structural and geographic barriers that can stand between North Carolina's Veterans and access to health care services.
• Veteran Service Officers and health care workers can be a key point of contact for information about available services and opportunities to meet health and well-being needs.
• Health care provider availability – both geographic and within payer networks – is an important factor in Veteran access to health care services.

Building a Health Care Workforce and System Ready to Serve Veterans

• Health care providers in non-VA settings do not typically know when they are caring for Veterans or their families and often do not understand the variety of military-connected health conditions that could affect these patients.
• Increasing the number of Veterans in the health care workforce could increase Veteran cultural awareness in the health care sector.
• Health care providers can improve their ability to care for Veterans by:
  • Participating in trainings on Veteran culture and military-connected health conditions.
  • Asking all patients if they have served in the military or have a close family member who has.