Altoona VA Medical Center

About

Since 1950, the James E. Van Zandt VA Medical Center has been improving the health of the men and women who have so proudly served our nation. We consider it our privilege to serve your health care needs in any way we can. Services are available to more than 87,000 Veterans living in a 14 county area of Pennsylvania. Our 14 counties include Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Mifflin, and Somerset.

Improving Access and Timeliness of Care
Learn how we are improving access to health care for nearly 25,000 Veterans in our 14 county service area.

See how our VA Medical Center is doing in Access and Quality.

Read, Interim Director, Charles Thilges’ Op-Ed State of our VA – May 31, 2017

Mission

• The medical center exists to serve the Veteran through the delivery of timely quality care by staff who demonstrate outstanding customer service and quality health care services. We embrace the VHA Mission to honor America’s Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well being.

Vision

• The medical center will be recognized locally, regionally, and nationally as a leader in quality patient care, positive customer service, and excellent employment opportunities. We strive to be a patient-centered health care organization for Veterans, providing excellence in health care; being an organization where people choose to work; and serving as a community partner and back-up for national emergencies.

Key Business Drivers

• Our key business drivers are quality, access, financial integrity, patient satisfaction, and employee satisfaction.

Values

• Integrity: Act with high moral principle. Adhere to the highest professional standards. Maintain the trust and confidence of all with whom I engage.
• Commitment: Work diligently to serve Veterans and other beneficiaries. Be driven by an earnest belief in VA’s mission. Fulfill my individual responsibilities and organizational responsibilities.
• Advocacy: Be truly Veteran-centric by identifying, fully considering, and appropriately advancing the interests of Veterans and other beneficiaries.
• Respect: Treat all those I serve and with whom I work with dignity and respect. Show respect to earn it.
• Excellence: Strive for the highest quality and continuous improvement. Be thoughtful and decisive in leadership, accountable for my actions, willing to admit mistakes, and rigorous in correcting them.

Directions

In addition to our main facility in Altoona, we offer services in five VA Outpatient Clinics. These clinics are located in:

• DuBois, Pennsylvania
• Indiana, Pennsylvania
• Johnstown, Pennsylvania
• Mapleton Depot (Huntingdon County), Pennsylvania
• State College, Pennsylvania

Mission

Medical Care

Tricare Numbers
Nurse Advice Hotline TRICARE: (800) 874-2273 Opt 1
Primary Care Appointments: (800) 600-9332
TRICARE for Life: (866) 773-0404

TRICARE
Tricare partners with United Healthcare Military & Veterans as its regional contractor in the Western United States to provide health care services and support to beneficiaries.

Home TRICARE:
https://www.tricare.mil

Tricare Home Page allows access to Enroll in or Purchase a Plan, File or Check a Claim, View Referrals, Find a Health Care Provider, Change Your Primary Care Manager, Compare Plans, Manage Prescriptions and much more.

Nurse Advice Line TRICARE: (800) 874-2273 Opt 1.

The Nurse Advice Line is available to all TRICARE beneficiaries in the U.S., except those enrolled in US Family Health Plan. You can call the Nurse Advice Line 24/7, at no cost to you, to talk to a registered nurse who can: Answer your urgent care questions.

New to TRICARE:
https://www.tricare.mil/Plans/New

Learn more about TRICARE- Watch an overview video & take free public TRICARE courses online.

TRICARE Online:
https://www.tricareonline.com/

You can make Primary Care appointments, check lab results and even order your pharmacy refills using TOL, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Contact: (800) 600-9332

TRICARE For Life:
https://www.tricare.mil/tfl
Contact- (866) 773-0404

TRICARE for Life is your Medicare-wraparound coverage for TRICARE-eligible beneficiaries who have Medicare Part A and B. TRICARE for Life beneficiaries can receive care at military hospitals and clinics, ​but only on a space-available basis.

TRICARE Pharmacy Program:
https://www.tricare.mil/pharmacy

The TRICARE Pharmacy Program provides the prescription drugs you need, when you need them, in a safe, easy, and affordable way.

Customer Service Community Directory:
https://www.tricare.mil/bcacdcao/

The directory helps you connect with a Beneficiary Counseling and Assistance Coordinator (BCAC), Debt Collection Assistance Officer (DCAO), or other member of the customer service community. If you have questions or issues specific to a single clinic or hospital, contact someone listed for that facility.

You may contact any customer service community representative for general TRICARE issues.

Must be registered in the DEERS program to be eligible for TRICARE
Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System:
https://www.tricare.mil/deers