W. G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center - Salisbury, NC

Edwina Gray-Wright, Salisbury VAMC’s Rural Health Integration program manager, answers Veteran’s questions about VA health care services during the RecruitMilitary Veteran Career Fair held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Nov. 21.

Hundreds of Veterans from across the state of North Carolina recently visited the RecruitMilitary Veteran Career Fair held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Nov. 21, to learn about opportunities to get back in the job market. While there, they were also able to meet with members of the Salisbury VA Medical Center Rural Health Integration team to learn about any medical care benefits they might possibly be eligible for through the Veterans Administration.

The team answered questions about medical appointments, eligibility and healthcare services with more than 300 of the 411 Veterans who attended the four-hour event. They also provided VA health care applications to 38 of the job seekers.

Edwina Gray-Wright, Salisbury VAMC’s Rural Health Integration program manager, said job fairs give her team a chance to engage with a specific segment of the Veteran population.

“We have been attending job fairs for the past few years, especially those geared towards Veterans,” she said. “The logic being if a Veteran is looking for employment, then there is the likelihood that they also do not have healthcare, and many are current returnees and thus eligible for free care.  Jobs are first on their minds; healthcare may not be a priority.”

Steve Balczo, director of military outreach for RecruitMilitary, said it’s always a winning situation for everyone involved when his group can partner with VA at their job fair events.

“I think the VA’s presence at the job fairs provides the Veterans an opportunity to assess their health needs, dental needs and everything else going on in relation to their former service,” said Balczo. “It’s a nice linkage – Veterans showing up to find an opportunity and the VA’s presence there really helps in coordinating that and adds value to our expos. I think it’s a win for the Veterans and anytime we can do any kind of win for the Veterans, we’re in to do it.”

Gray-Wright said it’s always an honor for the Rural Health Integration team to serve any Veteran in need any way they can.

“This was a great event.  We were able to assist many Veterans who may not have had their customer service needs met in the past, answer questions about navigating the USA JOBS website and answer a bunch of general questions,” she said. “We were also able to meet a lot of really great people - Veterans who served and now need another good job.” 

For more information about the Rural Health program, check out their web page at http://www.salisbury.va.gov/services/Rural_Health_Initiative.asp.  For a schedule of when and where the team will be providing services, visit http://www.salisbury.va.gov/calendar.asp.