Listen now to the 11/11/19 show on About Health on 94.1FM—KPFA.org. We focused on health services and quality of life for veterans.
There are about 9 million Americans who use the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), a publicly funded national healthcare system that delivers care in over 1,700 sites, including acute-care hospitals, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, inpatient residential programs, and campus and community-based centers. With a salaried staff of nearly 300,000, the VHA is the nation’s largest and only integrated healthcare system that has full public funding.
Guests:
Eddie Ramirez MSGT, USAF (Retired), has been serving veterans in a variety of ways for the past 10 years. In 2013 he founded OneVet OneVoice, an organization to serve as a proving ground for his model of Veteran care. In 2003 Eddie served in the United States Air Force as a Master Sergeant, following his 22-year career with the Armed Forces, and worked for the Department of Labor in 2005. He worked for the Veterans Administration as the Administrative Officer for Mental Health Services from 2009-14. It was that experience that helped him put together the H.E.H.E. model that OneVet OneVoice is currently using in San Francisco. Throughout Eddie’s military and federal government service, he always stayed involved with Veteran issues including being the Founder of the San Francisco Veterans Town Hall Collaborative; a monthly town hall for Veterans and community partners to learn about Veterans services. He also conducts workshops to assist Veterans with employment, specifically how to obtain a job with the federal government. And he is the Founder of the San Francisco Veterans Film Festival, a creative avenue to allow Veterans and the public to engage with each other on an artistic level.
John R. McQuaid, PhD is the Chief of the Mental Health Service at the San Francisco VA Health Care System, Vice Chair for Adult Psychology at the Department of Psychiatry, UCSF and Vice Chair for San Francisco VA Health Care System at the Department of Psychiatry, UCSF. From 1995 to 2009 he served on the faculty of the University of California, San Diego and as a staff member at the San Diego VA Health Care System, moving into the role of Associate Chief of Psychology in 2004. Dr. McQuaid’s research has focused on designing and evaluating psychosocial interventions for psychological and behavioral problems, including dual diagnosis conditions (depression and substance dependence), psychosis, anxiety disorders, high risk sex behaviors, and phantom limb pain. He is currently a Site Investigator for a VA multi-site study comparing forms of therapy (cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure) for the treatment of PTSD. Dr. McQuaid’s clinical and teaching expertise is in cognitive-behavioral interventions for mood and anxiety disorders. He has served as a member of VA task forces to establish guidelines for the treatment of depression, and chaired the American Psychological Association Depression Guideline Panel. Dr. McQuaid is past Secretary of the Association of VA Psychologist Leaders, and formerly served as President of the organization. He is the author of A Peaceful Mind: Using Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Psychology to Overcome Depression, and Cognitive-Behavioral Social Skills Training for Schizophrenia.
