VA’s Whole Health content focuses this month on both conventional and Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH) treatments—and how the two approaches converge. The tools provided will help BVA members and their families share how CIH, along with conventional treatment, results in better outcomes for veteran health and well-being. The tools include two videos and a feature story.  Integrative approaches may include medication, guided imagery, acupuncture, biofeedback, clinical hypnosis, tai chi/qigong, yoga, and massage therapy. Some

Among BVA’s membership may be veterans who have decided to further their education, either soon after leaving active duty or after many years. Returning to an academic environment of any kind can be exciting and present new possibilities, but it can also be challenging and perhaps intimidating to adapt to this new chapter of life. With the upcoming start of the fall college semester and the return of student veterans to the classroom, the VA

National Service Dog Month was formed in 2008. The idea for this appreciation month came from actor Dick Van Patten, who was impressed by the great help he had observed service dogs perform to humans with certain ailments and disabilities. To further the cause, he also launched a fundraising initiative to benefit the animals who worked hard every day in service dog training schools.  Van Patten also became an honorary board member of the Guide

BVA Executive Director Donald D. Overton, Jr. was quoted in a Washington Post investigative report this week that highlighted the difficulty in keeping fake service animals off planes while at the same time assuring that all legally blind persons with trained guide dogs are allowed to fly. The article reported on the increased difficulty in taking guide dogs onto flights since new Department of Transportation rules took effect in January 2021.  The original intent of