VA Connecticut Healthcare System

VA Connecticut Healthcare System was officially formed in 1995 with the integration of the VA medical centers in West Haven and Newington. VA Connecticut serves Veterans in Connecticut and southern New England. The West Haven campus is a tertiary care facility classified as a Clinical Referral Level One Facility. The Newington campus is an ambulatory care center that provides primary and specialty care. Community-based outpatient clinics are located in Danbury, New London, Stamford, Waterbury, Willimantic and Winsted. Vet Centers are located in Danbury, Hartford, Norwich and New Haven. VA Connecticut HCS is a member of the VA New England Healthcare System (VISN 1) headquartered in Bedford, Mass. In fiscal year 2015, VA Connecticut served more than 59,000 patients.

Affiliations

VA Connecticut is affiliated with many institutions of higher education. The primary affiliations are with the Yale University School of Medicine and the University of Connecticut Schools of Medicine and Dentistry. A Nursing Academy is based at the West Haven campus in partnership with the Fairfield University School of Nursing.

Authorized Beds

216

Accreditations

The VA New England Healthcare System (VISN 1), which includes VA Connecticut, is accredited by the The Joint Commission. VA Connecticut is accredited in the Hospital Accreditation Program, Long Term Care, Behavioral Health, Home Care and Ambulatory Care. VA Connecticut is also accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care. The Errera Community Care Center Programs and the Eastern Blind Rehabilitation Center are accredited by Commission for the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). The Laboratory Service is accredited by College of American Pathologists (CAP).

Research and National Programs

VA Connecticut conducts research in psychiatry, medicine, surgery, neurology and related basic sciences. National Veterans Health Administration programs at VA Connecticut include the following:

• Eastern Blind Rehabilitation Center
• Northeast Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC)
• Coordinating Center for Cooperative Studies Program
• National Virology Reference Laboratory
• National Laboratory for Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases
• Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC)
• National Center for PTSD
• National Center for Research in Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
• VA/Yale Center for Neuroscience and Nerve Regeneration
• Clinical Epidemiology Center

 

Specialized Program

VA Connecticut also has the following specialized program, which is recognized nationally and regionally as the best offered in the Department of Veterans Affairs:

• Single PhotoEmission Computerized Tomography SPECT, which provides state of the art imaging for medical care and research in biology, psychiatry, cardiology and oncology.