Facility Information

The VA Salt Lake City Health Care System (VASLCHCS) consists of the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in Utah, Idaho, and Nevada.

The George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center is a mid-sized affiliated tertiary care facility with 121 authorized active beds. It is a teaching facility, providing a full range of patient care services, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research. Comprehensive health care is provided through primary care, tertiary care, and long-term care in areas of medicine, surgery, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, oncology, dentistry, and geriatrics. The VASLCHCS is part of the VA Network 19, which includes facilities in Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada.

Affiliations
VASLCHCS has a major affiliation with the University of Utah School of Medicine. Over 500 University of Utah residents, interns, and students are trained at the VASLCHCS each year. Additional Special Fellowship programs affiliated with the University of Utah are ongoing in Ambulatory Care and Medical Informatics Training Programs. Currently there are 115 physician resident positions funded at the VASLCHCS. There are also nursing student affiliations with numerous colleges and universities throughout the United States, including local Intermountain West affiliations with the University of Utah, Brigham Young University and Westminster College. The VASLCHCS has ongoing training programs and affiliations with numerous colleges and university throughout the United States involving our Associated Health Training Program. The associated health training includes dentistry, pharmacy, social work, psychology, occupational and physical rehabilitation, audiology, physician assistant, dietetics, and podiatry training programs. Many of these training programs have been integrated into our Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC).

Community Information

Salt Lake City is the cultural and political center of Utah. With a metro area of 1 million residents, Salt Lake is Utah's most populous city by a significant amount, yet remains remarkably pleasant and livable. It has plenty of cultural offerings, numerous parks and some inspiring buildings, including the splendid structures of the Mormon Temple Square and the historic This is the Place Monument.

Some of the other spectacular draws of the city include the Clark Planetarium, which includes Utah's very first 3-D IMAX Theater. Surrounding the Planetarium is Downtown's Gateway, a partly open air shopping center that spans blocks. Hogle Zoo and Tracy Aviary are delightful for wildlife lovers, if the Zoo can be very crowded on the weekends. The Museum of Fine Arts has a beautiful wide range of works and performance landmarks such as Hale Theatre and Ballet West are well worth seeing.

Salt Lake City sits very attractively in a valley beneath the Wasatch Mountains. The mountains provide a wonderful backdrop and a variety of great recreational opportunities. In winter, piles of dry snow smother the Wasatch, providing excellent downhill skiing at 7 large resorts within 45 minutes of downtown, including Alta, Solitude, Snowbird and Brighton. In summer, there is good hiking and mountain biking. Wasatch's Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons are known for their rockclimbing spots. Head a little farther north to the delightful water and amusement park Lagoon to cool off after a day of exercise. Salt Lake City is part of the Wasatch Front, the name given to the string of cities and suburbs that forms a continuous urban area along the Wasatch Mountains from Ogden to Provo. Visit Salt Lake City.