Tomah 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 paid Federal holidays per year
• 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 8.3% of the employee’s salary each pay period for a total annual contribution percentage equal to 12.7% 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

Educational Benefits:

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. Specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy: must submit your EDRP application within 4 months of appointment. Approval, award amount (up to $200K) and eligibility period (1 to 5 years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application.
• Specialty Education Loan Repayment Program (SELRP), allows VA to recruit physicians starting or currently enrolled in residency training, in medical specialties for which VA had determined hard-to-recruit and meet forecasted workforce projections. Selected participants may receive up to $40,000 in education loan repayment for each year for up to four years, totaling $160,000. SELRP recipients agree to a minimum service obligation of 2-4 years as a full-time patient care provider at a VA health care facility.
• Contract Buy-Out Program (CBOP), As part of the PACT Act, CBOP authorizes VA to buy out service contracts for health care professionals in exchange for 4 years of service at one of our rural or highly rural VA medical centers or an affiliated community-based outpatient clinic.

About our Campus

Located on a 173-acre campus in West-Central Wisconsin, Tomah VAMC is a 271-bed facility focusing on primary care, mental health services and nursing home care. Along with the four outpatient clinics, the facility serves over 20,000 Veterans in mid-western Wisconsin and the bordering counties in Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan. Inpatient programs include: acute medicine, acute and long-term psychiatry; vocational and social rehabilitation; psycho-geriatric; Alzheimer’s assessment and management; residential substance abuse treatment and post-traumatic stress disorder. The inpatient programs are augmented by an active outpatient component, including mental hygiene clinic, Mental Health Intensive Care Management Program and an extensive array of social and recreational activities supporting the local community residency homes. Tomah VAMC maintains strong relationships with the area military bases, operating the Troop Medical Clinical at Fort McCoy, Wisc. and providing dental services for both Army and Air Force soldiers stationed in the area.

Affiliations

-None

Authorized Beds

-271

Type of Facility

-Acute Care / Mental Health / Long-Term Care / Rehabilitation

Special Programs

-PTSD – Residential Program
-Substance Abuse – Residential Program
-Compensated Work Therapy/Transitional Residency