Minneapolis VA Medical Center seeks name for new women’s veterans clinic

The Minneapolis VA Medical Center is seeking nominations for the namesake of its new women’s veterans clinic in advance of its groundbreaking. 

Submissions must include the veteran nominee’s military service information and written commentary demonstrating her connection to the Minneapolis VA Healthcare System’s Medical Center or Community Based Outpatient Clinics and why the veteran is deserving of the recognition. 

“Naming the new clinic after an extraordinary woman veteran acknowledges and promotes a culture of respect and dignity toward women who have proudly served alongside their male counterparts,” said Pat Kelly, Minneapolis VA director.

The Minneapolis VA Healthcare System provides more than 100,000 veterans all over the state and beyond with different health care services at 15 locations, as well as the Community Resource and Referral Center for unhoused veterans in Minneapolis. 

While the Minneapolis VA has had a women’s clinic for 30 years and was one of the first four centers in the country, this marks the first time that there will be a dedicated separate building attached to the hospital solely for the women’s veterans clinic. 

The women’s veterans clinic offers comprehensive health care including primary and preventative care. There’s integrated mental health care and a gynecologist. In recent years, the clinic expanded its pelvic health program, including pelvic therapy and sexual health to support veterans, pap smears, urology tests, breast cancer screenings and surgery. 

Alisa Duran, the health medical director, said maternity care support is also provided for veterans. While there’s no obstetrician care at the VA Health System, there’s a nurse coordinator who works with the population so the veterans can receive care.

A psychologist was recently added to the program to provide mental health services out to 12 months postpartum because of the risk of postpartum depression within the veteran population. 

The new space almost doubles the examination room space and expands women’s health care at the Minneapolis VA Health System. 

“To think they are going to build a women’s clinic, I’m just stunned,” said Jeri Longfellow, a veteran and a member of the women’s clinic naming committee. 

Duran said naming the new center after a female veteran is important to this new chapter. 

She added that female veterans are the fastest growing segment in the veteran population. While she worked in residency at the VA Medical Center more than two decades ago, she couldn’t “recall caring for a female veteran during that time.” She said numbers back then were “pretty low by comparison today.” 

In fiscal year 2023, the VA Women’s Clinic saw 7,000 unique patient visits and there were over 125,000 visits total. Duran said the clinic anticipates seeing a 30 percent growth in the female veteran population over the next five years.

“To be able to be in a position where I can provide care and serve those veterans who have put their lives on the line for our country and be able to honor them by putting the name of a female veteran on our clinic is absolutely phenomenal,” she said.  “I think it’s very validating of their experiences as veterans.”

Official nomination packets can be submitted now through Oct. 30. The new clinic will open sometime in summer 2026. 

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