NWI-Grand Island

Facility and Location

The Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System (NWIHCS) is comprised of the Omaha VA Medical Center, and community based facilities and clinics throughout Nebraska and Western Iowa, including Grand Island, Lincoln, North Platte, Holdrege, Norfolk, Bellevue and O’Neill in Nebraska, and Shenandoah Clinic in Iowa. 

Affiliations include the University of Nebraska Medical Center and College of Medicine, along with allied health programs in Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Social Work, Physician Assistant, Dietetics, Nurse Practitioner; and Creighton University Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Allied Health, Occupational Therapy Nursing  .

The Grand IslandMedical Center is a facility within the Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System (NWIHCS), and provides outpatient primary, specialty, and mental health care and residential substance abuse center with 18 beds. Additionally, the facility has a CT scanner, Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) clinic, pain clinic, polytrauma clinic, and audiology and ophthalmology clinics. A new dental clinic was opened in May 2011. A Community Living Center with 76 beds provides short stay rehabilitation, skilled nursing care, respite and long term care. A five bed hospice and palliative care unit is now available within the Community Living Center for end-of-life care for our veterans. A transitional house for homeless Veterans was recently opened.   The Grand Island Division focuses on ambulatory and extended care, including geriatric and rehabilitation services.  

Approximately 6,332 combat Veterans are enrolled in NWIHCS. A statewide OEF/OIF/OND team proactively addresses the special health and mental health needs of these Veterans by providing education and clinical care. The staff participates in outreach events in Nebraska and Western Iowa, to provide briefings about mental health, Traumatic Brain Injury, primary care issues and transitioning to civilian life after deployments. VA staff assists Veterans to complete applications for enrollment at post-deployment briefings and provides them appointments for primary care and/or mental health. Transition Clinics are located at the Omaha VAMC, Lincoln, and Grand Island facilities in outpatient clinics which provide primary care, mental health and case-management services. NWIHCS has designated providers trained at each CBOC and facility to provide consistent health care to returning combat Veterans. NWIHCS provides evaluations for Traumatic Brain Injuries to returning veterans in our Polytrauma Clinics located in Lincoln, Grand Island, and a clinic at the Center Mall in Omaha.

VA Central Office is seeking proposals interested in building homeless housing, affordable housing, senior-living housing, or assisted-living housing on 6 acres of Grand Island VA land under the Building Utilization Review and Repurposing (BURR) initiative. VA plans to lease the prospective site for up to 75 years. At the end of the term, the leased property and improvements revert to the VA.

About the VA

Department of Veterans Affairs offers Veterans the largest, most technologically advanced integrated health care system in the United States. We operate more than 1,400 sites of care, including 153 medical centers, 909 ambulatory and community-based outpatient clinics, 135 nursing homes, 232 Veterans centers, 47 readjustment counseling centers, and 108 comprehensive home-care programs, across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S.Territories.

More than 7.9 million Veterans, their family members, and survivors are enrolled in the VA Health System, with more than 6.3 million seeking treatment each year. Currently, that annual treatment involves 773,600 inpatient visits and 60 million outpatient visits. About 250,000 full-time employees and 90,000 health professional trainees work in interdisciplinary care teams to deliver those patient services daily.

VA's patient population crosses a wide spectrum of individuals, from elderly World War II Veterans, to baby boomer Vietnam Vets, to today's younger heroes who served during the Gulf War era and in the present day Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. VA also serves a growing number of women Veterans, who currently account for seven percent of the total Veteran population.

VA Benefits

Paid Time Off:

• 26 Days paid annual (vacation/personal) leave
• 13 Days paid sick leave each year with no limit on accumulation
• 10 paid Federal holidays per year
• 5 Days paid absence to attend approved CME courses

Insurance:

• Health Insurance: VA employees have an outstanding number of health insurance plans from which to choose (premiums are partially paid by VA) Lifetime Healthcare Insurance options available
• Dental & Vision: Our insurance options also include exceptional vision and dental plans (premiums are partially paid by VA)
• VA employees have the option to use Flexible Spending Accounts, which allow you to use tax-free dollars to pay for medical, dental, and vision care expenses that are not reimbursed by your health insurance plan
• Term life insurance, family, and additional coverage options are available with the cost shared by the Federal Government
• Long-term care insurance is available as an option

Federal Retirement Plan:

• VA employees are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). FERS is a three-tiered retirement plan composed of 1) Social Security benefits; 2) FERS-RAE basic benefits (pension); and 3) Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is a 401K-type plan
• How is the pension funded? VA employees automatically contribute 4.4% of their salary each pay period and the VA contributes 8.3% of the employee’s salary each pay period for a total annual contribution percentage equal to 12.7% of the employee’s salary
• Similar to the 401(k) savings plans widely available in the private sector, the TSP allows employees to tax defer a portion of their income each year, subject to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service. For calendar year 2015, employees under the age of 50 may contribute up to $18,000, while those over age 50 are eligible to make catch-up contributions that allow them to defer up to $24,000.
• The Federal Government also provides an automatic basic contribution (1% of salary) and up to 4% of salary in matching contributions, depending on the amount of the employee contribution
• For retired military personnel, these benefits are in addition to full monthly retirement pay or pension
• In addition to FERS, VA provides health care insurance coverage for retired personnel
• Disability Retirement
• Employees are vested in a federal pension after only 5 years’ service