John D. Dingell VA Medical Center

VA Benefits

Paid Time Off:

• 26 Days paid annual (vacation/personal) leave
• 13 Days paid sick leave each year with no limit on accumulation
• 11 Federal holidays with pay annually
• 5 Days paid absence to attend approved CME courses

Insurance:

• Health Insurance: VA employees have an outstanding number of health insurance plans from which to choose (premiums are partially paid by VA) Lifetime Healthcare Insurance options available
• Dental & Vision: Our insurance options also include exceptional vision and dental plans (premiums are partially paid by VA)
• VA employees have the option to use Flexible Spending Accounts, which allow you to use tax-free dollars to pay for medical, dental, and vision care expenses that are not reimbursed by your health insurance plan
• Term life insurance, family, and additional coverage options are available with the cost shared by the Federal Government
• Long-term care insurance is available as an option

Federal Retirement Plan:

• VA employees are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan composed of 1) Social Security benefits, 2) FERS-RAE basic benefits (pension), and 3) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is a 401K-type plan
• How is the pension funded? VA employees automatically contribute 4.4% of their salary each pay period and the VA contributes 12.2% of the employee’s salary each pay period for a total annual contribution percentage equal to 16.6% of the employee’s salary
• Similar to the 401(k) savings plans widely available in the private sector, the TSP allows employees to tax defer a portion of their income each year, subject to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service. For calendar year 2020, employees under the age of 50 may contribute up to $19,500, while those over age 50 are eligible to make catch-up contributions that allow them to defer up to $25,500.
• The Federal Government also provides an automatic basic contribution (1% of salary) and up to 4% of salary in matching contributions, depending on the amount of the employee contribution
• For retired military personnel, these benefits are in addition to full monthly retirement pay or pension
• In addition to FERS, VA provides health care insurance coverage for retired personnel
• Disability Retirement
• Employees are vested in a federal pension after only 5 years service

Facility Description

The John D. Dingell VA Medical Center is a 108-bed full service medical center that provides primary, secondary and tertiary care. The medical center provides acute medical, surgical, psychiatric, neurological, and dermatological inpatient care. Primary care, medical and surgical specialties are also provided by the VAMC as well as mental health clinics that include substance abuse treatment, a day treatment center, and a community based psychiatric program with the goal of maintaining patients in their home community. The medical center also operates an 109-bed nursing home care unit and a Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) program. The medical center administers two contract Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) located in Yale, Michigan and Pontiac, Michigan as well as four Veteran outreach centers in Dearborn, Detroit, Macomb County, and Pontiac. The VAMC serves approximately 330,994 Veterans in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and St. Clair counties.

The Detroit VAMC was awarded a new Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program which is situated off-site within 10 miles of the medical center. Organizationally, this program is under the Health Care for Homeless Veterans Program in Mental Health Services. The four-month program houses approximately 50 chronically homeless Veterans in VISN 11. It focuses on successful reintegration of these Veterans into the community.

At the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center we have a strong and diverse program of research with a FY2008 budget of $3.8 million in VA grant funding. Our investigators and their associates focus on basic and clinical research in a wide variety of areas including aging, neuroscience, cancer, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, hypertension, infectious diseases, pulmonary diseases and sleep disorders. There is a well-developed spirit of cooperation among basic and clinical investigators as well as excellent support from our Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN 11), from the medical center administration, and from clinical and support services. Our medical center is affiliated with Wayne State University School of Medicine resulting in further opportunities for scientific collaboration and interaction with faculty, students and post-graduate trainees in many fields. All investigators have faculty appointments in the medical school. The John D. Dingell VAMC is affiliated with the Wayne State University School of Medicine and supports 75.2 resident FTE. Other major training programs at the medical center include Audiology & Speech Pathology, Dietetics, Nursing, Psychology, Rehabilitation Medicine, Social Work, Surgical Auxiliaries and a Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) program.

Affiliations

Wayne State University School of Medicine

Authorized Beds

108 Authorized 109 NHCU

Type of Facility

GM&S Special Programs Sleep/Wake Center Cardiac Catheterization Hemodialysis Radiation Oncology Comprehensive Psychiatry Women Veterans Center Acute/Medicine Surgery Palliative/Respite Care Research/Education NHCU PTSD Clinic HBPC Comprehensive Cancer Center Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Intensive Psychiatric Community Care