Healthcare Benefits

As a veteran, you have many options for healthcare at UCLA and in the greater Los Angeles Area! UCLA provides several on-campus healthcare services for veterans and their families. In addition to the on-campus healthcare options, UCLA is conveniently located less than 2 miles from the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Please see below for a listing of healthcare services available to veterans.

UCLA’s Student Health Center

The Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center is conveniently located in the center of campus in Bruin Plaza. The Ashe Center offers a variety of services to support the diverse UCLA campus community including primary care, walk-in urgent care, pharmacy, specialty clinics, women's health, radiology, physical/occupational therapy, laboratory, immunizations, travel clinic, acupuncture, and optometry services.

All currently enrolled UCLA students are eligible to use The Ashe Center. Students with UC Student Health Insurance Plan (UC SHIP) can utilize the majority of Ashe’s services free of cost. Students with BruinCare can utilize the core services of the Ashe Center free of charge. Students who do not have UC SHIP are still able to utilize Ashe Center services, for a small fee. For a complete list of fees, please visit the Ashe Center Fees and Eligibility. For more information on student health insurance and UC SHIP, please visit the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center website.

UCLA’s Operation Mend

Established in 2007 and now part of "Joining Forces," the White House's nationwide effort to galvanize resources to support military families, Operation Mend is a pioneering program that combines the best of the military's resources with the skills of the UCLA Health System for a comprehensive and collaborative approach to healing U.S. military personnel injured and disfigured in Iraq and Afghanistan. While the original goal of Operation Mend was to give returning service members with severe facial injuries access to the Army's best burn center and the nation's best plastic and reconstructive surgeons, the program has since expanded to optimize the healing of body, mind and spirit. In addition to plastic and reconstructive surgery, Operation Mend provides mental health support for wounded warriors and their families, orthopedic reconstruction for severely damaged limbs, urology treatment, otolaryngology care, examination and treatment of reproductive issues, repair of airways, and the design of prosthetic ears. Video interview with co-directors.

Please visit the Operation Mend website for additional information about their services.

UCLA’s Nathanson Family Resilience Center

The Nathanson Family Resilience Center conducts research and provides an array of programs in resiliency training to military families and veterans facing the challenges of deployment and reintegration. Project FOCUS, offered at military bases across the United States and to families of patients receiving treatment through Operation Mend at UCLA, helps to improve the lives of families facing the loss of a parent or parental depression, medical illness, and wartime exposure. The NFRC team has partnered with Volunteers of America and US Vets to deliver FOCUS prevention services for female veterans and their children in transitional housing facilities in the Long Beach and San Pedro areas. The Nathanson Center also helps families strengthen and renew family relationships in a U.S. National Park setting through the National Military Family Association's Operation Purple Camps. The Welcome Back Veterans Family Resilience Center integrates research, practice and technology to provide a continuum of family and community interventions — including web-based tools, education and training materials — that can be implemented in a variety of contexts. Video interview with FOCUS director.

Please visit the Nathanson Family Resilience Center website for additional information about their services.

VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System

The VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS) is the largest healthcare system within the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is one component of the VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network (VISN22) offering services to Veterans residing in Southern California and Southern Nevada. VAGLAHS consists of three ambulatory care centers, a tertiary care facility and 10 community based outpatient clinics. VAGLAHS serves Veterans residing throughout five counties: Los Angeles, Ventura, Kern, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. There are 1.4 million Veterans in the VAGLAHS service area. VAGLAHS is affiliated with both UCLA School of Medicine and USC School of Medicine, as well as more than 45 colleges, universities and vocational schools in 17 different medical, nursing, paramedical and administrative programs. Direct Link : http://www.losangeles.va.gov/