Public Health
Military Exposures & Your Health - Spring/Summer - Issue 18
In this issue:
- At Home with VET-HOME: Using Telehealth for Veterans' Exposure Concerns
- Have you heard about VA's Exposure-Informed Care Initiative?
- “A breath of fresh air”: Veterans talk about VET-HOME, VA’s new national program specializing in military environmental exposures
- VA Continues Community Engagement and Research Efforts for K2 Veterans
- National Academies' Anne Styka Awarded for Her Work on Veterans Health
At Home with VET-HOME: Using Telehealth for Veterans' Exposure Concerns
Army Veteran John Harwood understands that Military Environmental Exposures (MEEs) are inherent to service, but he recently discovered VA considers them critical to Veteran care. As part of the 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion, Mr. Harwood worked with Explosive Ordnance Removal teams during his 2005 Iraq deployment, where he had concerns about exposure to chemical agents.
In April, after learning more about care options for MEEs, Mr. Harwood contacted the Veterans Exposure Team – Health Outcomes Military Exposures (VET-HOME), a new VA program that uses telehealth to evaluate Veterans with exposure concerns. Within a week, he met with a VET-HOME physician who documented his exposure history, provided information on PACT Act benefits, and referred him to the Complex Exposure Threats Center of Excellence (CETCE) for further testing.
Following his VET-HOME and CETCE evaluations, Mr. Harwood shared that this was the first time in 20 years that he felt his symptoms were fully understood and addressed. From airborne hazards and burn pits to Agent Orange and chemical warfare agents, VET-HOME provides exposure-related telehealth evaluations for enrolled Veterans like Mr. Harwood, so that prior exposures can be considered with Veterans’ current care.
Have you heard about VA's Exposure-Informed Care Initiative?
VA is committed to high-quality, exposure-informed care (EIC). EIC means VA considers how military environmental exposures, like burn pits or Agent Orange, may impact your health. Your VA care team keeps this in mind because you matter!
This initiative ensures VA health care teams are ready to address your concerns. This exposure-informed care approach is built into your care, where your health care team will listen, acknowledge, learn, and work with you to address exposure concerns.
A dedicated Veteran webpage is available with links and resources to:
- Information on military exposures
- Educational materials for you and your family
- Links to VA programs and support
Talk to your VA health care team today or visit: https://www.warrelatedillness.va.gov/EICforVeterans.
“A breath of fresh air”: Veterans talk about VET-HOME, VA’s new national program specializing in military environmental exposures
When Army Veteran Patrick Hughes answered the phone in August 2025, he had never heard of the Veterans Exposure Team – Health Outcomes Military Exposures (VET-HOME) program before. Like almost half of the Veterans who complete Toxic Exposure Screening (TES) with the VA, Veteran Hughes reported concerns about the environmental hazards he experienced in the military. His VA care had team referred him to VET-HOME for a more in-depth evaluation of his exposure to Agent Orange, burning garbage, and human waste in Vietnam, and he was scheduled for an hour-long Military Environmental Exposure Assessment (MEEA) with VET-HOME clinician Al Chicco. What followed next was a pleasant surprise: “When they reached out to me and talked to me, it was a breath of fresh air.”
Hughes appreciated the helpfulness and training of VET-HOME staff, who have all achieved advanced certification in military environmental exposures. “I think what separates them is [they are] consummate professionals, proficient in what they do…the cream of the crop,” said Hughes. Within 2 weeks of his appointment with PA Chicco, Hughes received a report from VET-HOME with a written summary of his discussion with VET-HOME, including background information about Hughes’s military experience and exposures, along with teaching points, recommendations for health care follow-up, and ideas for Hughes to take to his primary care physician. But what impressed him the most is the fact that VET-HOME really took the time to talk to him and listen to his exposure-related concerns, noting, “I couldn’t believe how wonderful it was to talk to people who cared and listened to you and got back to you in quick order.”
Stephen Pointe, a Navy Veteran, had a similar reaction after completing a MEEA with VET-HOME provider PA Alicia Nielsen for concerns about asbestos while stationed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. “It was very advantageous, not just for finding a decent human being in the world, but to get questions answered and document my issues and concerns, because she did that fantastically. She was a very compassionate woman,” said Pointe. PA Nielsen followed up with Pointe’s primary care provider at his local VA medical center and documented the discussion in Pointe’s medical records.
Jeremy Walker, an Air Force Veteran, also found VET-HOME extremely helpful when he called the VET-HOME intake center several times to learn more about presumptive conditions established by the 2022 PACT Act. “Overall, I ended up calling 4 or 5 times, and each time I called I got a really good person and the same type of feeling. I never felt rushed or pushed off the phone, and every time they were kind and wanted to help me.”
Feedback from a recent satisfaction survey of other Veterans confirms VET-HOME’s reputation for excellence, with 90.4% of surveyed Veterans stating that they would recommend VET-HOME to others. Over half (55.7%) said their knowledge about exposures increased after their VET-HOME evaluation, and almost a third (29.5%) reported changing their habits or health behaviors as a result of their discussion with a VET-HOME provider.
Any Veteran enrolled in VA health care can request a free MEEA with a VET-HOME provider by calling 833-633-VTHM (833-633-8846) or visiting the VET-HOME web portal to chat with a live VET-HOME agent. The VET-HOME intake center is open Monday-Friday 9AM to 7:30PM ET. Contact VET-HOME now to find out what Veterans like Patrick Hughes, Stephen Pointe, and Jeremy Walker are talking about!
VA Continues Community Engagement and Research Efforts for K2 Veterans
The U.S. Army and Air Force used the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base (K2), a former Soviet air base located in Uzbekistan, from 2001-2005 to support missions into Afghanistan. Now, VA’s Health Outcomes Military Exposures (HOME) Epidemiology Program is conducting community engagement meetings and health surveillance as a part of an effort to care for Veterans who were stationed at K2.
On March 5, 2026, HOME held the third annual K-2 Community Forum to allow VA to share the latest news on VA health care and benefits. HOME held previous forums in 2024 and 2023.
In February 2026, as a part of the work of the K2 Surveillance Program (K2SP), the HOME Epidemiology Program published results from a study to evaluate possible associations between deployment to K2 and 60 health conditions. The K2SP monitors a comprehensive set of health conditions and causes of death using medical codes found in health records from the Military Health System, the Veterans Health Administration, and the VA/Department of Defense Mortality Data Repository. K2SP monitors this health information over time to identify trends, patterns, and potential areas of concern. These surveillance efforts also help to identify rare or emerging concerns within the K2SP population.
The K2SP was designed by the HOME Epidemiology Program, with external peer review conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, to respond to increasing concerns about K2 exposures from Veterans.
National Academies’ Anne Styka Awarded for Her Work on Veterans Health
VA’s Health Outcomes Military Exposures would like to congratulate Anne Styka, MPH, PMP, a senior program officer and consensus study director with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies), for receiving the National Academy of Medicine’s Cecil Award for Individual Excellence for her work.
The National Academies are independent, non-partisan, non-profit institutions that provide expert scientific advice to inform policy and advance science, engineering, and medicine. Over the years, the National Academies have partnered with the VA to provide dozens of reports examining environmental exposures in eras of conflict as well as peace time. Notable areas of health outcomes studied include cancer, respiratory health, neurologic and nervous system conditions, and mental health.
Styka has been key to the success of both VA-directed and congressionally mandated reports on military exposures and health. Over her 15 years with the National Academies, she has directed, co-directed, or substantially contributed to more than 25 consensus studies. Her contributions have allowed VA Secretaries to base their determination of presumption on a strong scientific foundation.
“I am so honored and privileged to serve our Veterans through science,” said Styka. “To be able to contribute to issues that have real impact and are used to inform VA policies to improve the health care that our nation’s Veterans receive, the types of research conducted, and the programs and other initiatives that support Veterans of all eras has been personally and professionally rewarding.”
