VA sees surge in women veterans, works to earn their trust

With more women choosing to serve in the military in recent years, the Department of Veterans Affairs is seeing a growing number of women veterans who are needing care.

In 2000, women represented only 4% of all veterans, according to VA statistics. By 2040, women are expected to account for almost one in five veterans (18%), the department says.

Scott Isaacks, the director and chief executive officer of the Ralph H. Johnson VA Health System in Charleston, South Carolina, has seen the uptick in women veterans seeking services. The Ralph Johnson VA system received the American Hospital Association’s 2026 Quest for Quality Prize.

Isaacks has spent more than three decades working in the VA and more than a decade leading the Ralph Johnson system. In an interview with Chief Healthcare Executive® in July, Isaacks talked about the rising number of women seeking services in South Carolina, and around the country.

He also said the VA has recognized some women veterans have been leery of the VA system, and the department has worked to win their trust.

“The fastest growing portion of our overall growth is female veterans, and when I started with the VA, you know, we didn't have many female veterans coming to us,” Isaacks said. “Number one, there weren't as many female veterans. Number two, they just didn't trust the VA at all.”

About a decade ago, Isaacks says the VA began a concerted effort to improving services for women and also working to secure the confidence of female veterans.

Isaacks says the VA sent a message: “We want to be a trusted organization for our female veterans.”

Isaacks also says the VA system didn’t simply assume that the organization knew what women veterans wanted or needed. He says the VA began “actually asking them and really taking the time to understand their needs and let them feel like they’re a part of making their hospital better.”

The Ralph Johnson VA system is preparing to see an influx of more women veterans in the coming years, and more younger veterans more broadly who are going to need healthcare services. Isaacks says the system is serving about 108,000 veterans today, but that number is expected to grow significantly in the next decade.

“We're probably going to be about 150,000 in 10 years, which is quite a growth over the next 10 years,” he says.

Lawmakers in Congress have drafted legislation to improve health services for women veterans. U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) have co-sponsored legislation designed to improve oversight of women’s health services at the VA. Duckworth served with the Illinois Army National Guard in Iraq and lost her legs and partial use of her right arm when a rocket-propelled grenade hit her helicopter.

The legislation, dubbed the Veterans’ Outcomes, Inclusion, Care, and Experience (VOICE) for Women Veterans Act, would expand reporting on the level of services and highlight areas where the VA needs to improve care and services for female veterans. The lawmakers introduced the bill in September.

“Our bipartisan legislation would require the VA to take a deep look at how well female Veterans are actually being served and how we can improve health outcomes,” Duckworth said in a statement. “As the primary health care home for Veterans, this comprehensive review at the VA is long overdue to better care for the fastest growing Veteran group in the country.”

The senators have touted support from organizations supporting veterans, including the Wounded Warrior Project, Disabled American Veterans and Paralyzed Veterans of America.

“This bipartisan legislation will help strengthen accountability and ensure women veterans receive the care and support they are owed,” Boozman said.