Whole Health care team transforms Veteran’s outlook

Veteran finds that and more in VA health care

Every so often, we all need some encouragement—a pat on the back, a warm smile; a trusted, healthy source of comfort or inspiration—we can turn to during life’s trying moments. For Air Force Veteran Andre Long, he found that and more in VA health care and Whole Health.

Grappling with a recent cancer diagnosis and everyday life stresses, Long was struggling to juggle the massive life-changing news and all the emotions that it brought. 

Realizing he needed help to take on this new battle, Long was paired with three Salisbury VA Health Care System care teams that assisted in changing his outlook and helped him re-inspire hope and positivity. 

“I just knew I had to do something because I felt like the old me, that black cloud was returning,” said Long. “I didn’t like that feeling. So, I reached out for help.”

A union of skills & services

This past spring, Long was paired with Heather Todd, a social worker and therapist with Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI); Martin Harper, a peer support specialist with Mental Health & Behavioral Sciences; and Dr. Meghan Cody, a psychologist with Whole Health at the Kernersville Health Care Center (HCC). 

Peer specialists are trained and certified mental health care professionals and Veterans. They have personal experience with recovery from a mental health condition. They are part of interdisciplinary treatment teams, like Long’s own care team. 

“We want Veterans to realize that real change comes with a lifestyle change,” said Harper, an Air Force Veteran who has served as a peer specialist in PCMHI for over four years in Kernersville. “It comes with retooling your thinking; self-care and self-directed care are really big.”

PCMHI is a bridge service that connects Veterans who are interested in same-day mental health appointments and crisis visits with specialists.

After a consultation, the service helps Veterans receive assistance through primary care mental health, the mental health clinic or care in the community.

“We’re trying to give Veterans practical tools to put in the toolbox, which is part of why I think it works so well for them; it gives people a chance to connect with other individuals who are going through similar situations,” said Dr. Cody, whose sessions (individual and group) are tailored to the Veteran’s Whole Health.

Within months, Long received valuable life-changing skills from the services his interdisciplinary care team provided him, including several crucial coping techniques. He also became a valued member of a peer support group. The group offered Long a community of fellow Veterans who are navigating a similar path. 

“Mr. Long was brave enough to ask for help and accept it. And then I got to be a part of that big step. I feel like we use the word ‘special’ a lot, but I also think it’s kind of the epitome of that word that he let me in for all of that. I got to be in that experience with him. It’s not like I did it for him. I did it with him,” said Todd.

This collaboration between services—PCMHI, Whole Health and Peer Support—proves to be the perfect trifecta of specialties to get Veterans like Long back on the right track. 

“It’s the kind of care coordination that we all dream of when we hear things like ‘interdisciplinary teams’ that don’t always play out that way. The fact that this is possible, and it happened as organically and easily as it did, gives me a lot of hope about what else is out there and what else we can do in this system. We’re siloed, just like any health care system. However, I think this is a good representation of how we don’t have to stay in them,” added Todd. 

A renewed viewpoint

Long now has a fuller appreciation for VA’s Whole Health system of care, which put him—not his illnesses or conditions—at the center of his care journey.

“I’m more patient and I’m more grounded. I feel better about myself,” explained Long, as he reflected on the transformation of his daily outlook on life. 

A long-time patient of Kernersville HCC, Long boasts of the excellent customer service he receives every time he walks through the door. 

“Every visit is very personable. They don’t treat you as just a number,” he said. 

Learn more about VA’s Whole Health program. It’s never too late to apply for VA health care you’ve earned. If you are a Veteran or know a Veteran who has not yet applied for their VA health care benefits, learn how to get started.

This article was originally published on the VA Salisbury Health care System site and has been edited for style and clarity.