MACON, Ga. — This week the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin is introducing a new program they hope will help veterans with everything in their life.
It's called the Whole Health Program, which takes a different approach to traditional healthcare. Instead of just looking at what is wrong physically, the medical center will take a holistic approach for each veteran.
"I have been here at the VA for 10 years," registered nurse Jennifer Johnson said.
She respects the sacrifice veterans have made.
"They are heroes, and they deserve people who are willing to serve them the way they did for us," she said.
After being a nurse for more than a decade, Johnson is now helping to start a new program at the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center.
"Whole Health is about each individual, what each person values, what they want their health for," Johnson said.
Medical Director for the center David Whitmer says Whole Health will focus on the mind, spirituality, and veterans' personal relationships.
"It will be something infused in all of 'foundational' services, primary care, inpatient mental health, and our geriatrics service, so Whole Health again will be offered to all of our veterans," Whitmer said.
Whole Health coaches will create a plan for each veteran designed to lead them to a healthier and longer life.
"To make sure they know they are the ones who are actually at the center of the health care experience," Matthew Geyer, clinical director of the Whole Health Program said.
Geyer says the end goal is to make a plan that will give veterans an easier life -- a goal Johnson says is well within reach.
"If the veteran does not direct their care, if we do not help them accomplish what they value, they cannot be whole," Johnson said.
If you are a veteran and this sounds interesting to you, the VA will be having an information session Thursday at 6 p.m. in the auditorium.