Partnership with the VA

UCLA and the VA have partnered to served veterans for over 70 years, starting with the formation of a medical affiliation between UCLA’s School of Medicine and the VA healthcare center after World War II. Since then, UCLA doctors and residents have treated thousands of patients who are veterans, and myriad programs and partnerships have formed between the two institutions since then involving students, faculty, and staff associated with numerous UCLA professional schools and departments across campus.

In 2016, UCLA and the VA agreed to expand its partnership, aiming to fill gaps in care, going beyond the superficial symptoms of the challenges veterans face and treating the problems at their roots.

Three new centers are a key part of UCLA’s 10-year, $16.5 million commitment to the VA, and they are intended to operate indefinitely. The expanded partnership, which was cemented thanks to the West Los Angeles Leasing Act of 2016, includes a suite of UCLA programs and services at the VA, such as:

• The UCLA VA Veteran Family Wellness Center
• The UCLA School of Law Veterans Legal Clinic
• The VA/UCLA Center of Excellence on Veteran Resilience and Recovery
• Movie nights, batting practice, seats to baseball games and other activities at Jackie Robinson Stadium, in addition to fair-market rent
• UCLA Recreation classes in creative writing, photography, gardening and exercise