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Miami VA Healthcare System

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Miami VA Medical Center

The Miami VA Medical Center is a general medical-surgical and psychiatric hospital located in the Miami Health District.  Situated in the heart of downtown Miami, this complex also houses the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Jackson Memorial Hospital, the Mailman Center for Child Development, University of Miami Center on Adult Development and Aging, Cedars Hospital, Bascom Palmer Eye Hospital, Sylvester Cancer Center, and numerous other medical specialty centers. A variety of associated research facilities and libraries are also in this area.  The Miami VA Medical Center is strategically located near major expressways, various mass transit routes, and Miami International Airport, making it accessible to the entire South Florida area.

The Miami VA Medical Center is a training facility affiliated with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.  Training programs are directly administered by the Director of the Miami VA Medical Center and its Chief of Staff, who coordinate it with the Dean's Committee of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.  Approved internships and residencies are available in primary care, medicine, surgery, psychiatry, pharmacy, and many other health care disciplines.  The VA Research Service coordinates extensive funded research activities in all professional disciplines. The various libraries in the medical center complex provide an excellent resource for research and professional growth.

The Miami VA Medical Center moved into its current twelve-story structure in 1968, and operates 191 hospital beds.  Clinical services include Primary Care, General Medicine, Surgery, Intensive Care, Mental Health and Behavioral Services, Neurology, Spinal Cord Injury, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Cardiology, Special Immunology, Women’s Health, and Extended Care.  A Nursing Home Care Unit with an additional 120 beds is situated next to the main hospital building.  The Miami VAHS has been funded as a Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC).  This has resulted in special funding for research, training, and clinical projects in geriatrics here at the Miami VAMC.  There are also specially funded programs in geriatrics and community outreach to chronic psychiatric patients.  Additionally, Substance Abuse was recognized as a “Center for Excellence” in 1998.

The medical center also has active diagnostic and clinical treatment programs in dentistry, hematology, gastroenterology, dermatology, immunology, hepatology, nuclear medicine, radiology, speech and audiology, pulmonary, orthopedics, urology, renal care, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and thoracic surgery.
 
The VA Healthcare System has satellite clinics for outpatient services located in Oakland Park, Coral Springs, Hollywood, Deerfield Beach, Pembroke Pines, Homestead, Key Largo and Key West.  Each clinic provides primary care services.  The clinics are administered by the Miami VA Healthcare System.   Two Veterans Outreach Centers are also affiliated with the Miami VAHS.  Located in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, these facilities provide administrative and psychotherapeutic services to veterans of the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

One ward (26 beds) in the Miami VA Medical Center is devoted to acute inpatient psychiatry and there are three residential rehabilitation programs within the medical center.  The Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences Service, comprised of Psychiatry, Recreation Therapy, and Psychology Sections, has increased the emphasis on outpatient programs such as the Consultation and Liaison Service, Geriatric Mental Health, Outreach and Homeless, Behavioral Health Center, the Day Activities Center, PTSD Clinical Team, and the Outpatient Substance Abuse Clinic.

The staff of the Miami VA Healthcare System reflects the cultural breadth of South Florida. There is a stimulating variety of professional and supervisory viewpoints, with a strong commitment to stay on the cutting edge of medical care.  The Miami VA Medical Center reflects South Florida in its constant state of change and constant desire to grow by experimenting with new ideas and advancements.