A letter regarding MyVA Access

General News

Dear Veterans:

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is undergoing one of the largest transformations in its history.  An important component of this transformation is an initiative called MyVA Access.  You may recall our MyVA Access Declaration signing ceremony that occurred in 2016.  If not, you can view a short video about the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLJDynKHGOo

Central to MyVA Access is the commitment to providing you, the Veterans we serve, with enhanced options to access health care services and a consistent set of expectations when you engage the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System for routine care.  These expectations include:

  • Timely care including same day services in primary care, and
  • Timely mental health care, including same day services, as needed.

Since the date of our declaration signing ceremony, we have made dramatic progress regarding same-day services.  In fact, we now offer same-day access in both primary care and mental health across our healthcare system.  If you require a routine primary care or mental health care right away, during regular business hours, you will be able to receive some level of care the same day, or if after hours, by the next day at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center, Lee County Healthcare Center, or one of our community based outpatient clinics.  These enhanced health care access options build upon the same-day services that we have already been providing to you through our emergency department, urgent care clinics, My HealtheVet and several specialty services like cardiology and audiology. You can watch a short video about same-day audiology services here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrKVYM6JP6I.

I thank you for your service to our Nation and making the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System your health care provider of choice.

Should you have additional questions about same-day access to primary care and mental health care services, please contact your Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT).

Sincerely,

SUZANNE M. KLINKER

Director, Bay Pines VA Healthcare System

About Jeff Cavanagh

Jeff Cavanagh spent his freshman year at St. Petersburg Junior College back in the early 70s before enlisting in the United States Navy. Soon after, he attended Jacksonville University on a Navy ROTC scholarship. After college, he was commissioned and became a qualified Surface Warfare Officer spending the next 22 years honing his skills as a ship-handler and expert recruiter before retiring in 1994. Jeff expresses a deep sense of pride in St. Petersburg College due to connections that go back many years. His father, Tom Cavanagh, was a career Air Force fighter pilot and combat veteran who taught Geography and Western Civilization at St. Petersburg Junior College in the 60’s and 70’s.