New VA Women Veterans Program manager takes over
The Butler VA’s Women Veterans Program has a new manager.
As the new program director, Rebecca Brown, anticipates expanding existing programs and hiring positions to support that expansion.
She said she wants to not only treat physical ailments, but care for patients’ minds and spirits while empowering them with information about the options and resources available to them through the VA system.
“We are addressing all of those areas, so that our veterans are really experiencing whole health [care], as opposed to just the physical care,” Brown said. “We’ve added a women’s health care coordinator, Kimberly Bizub, and a women’s health dietitian who is also a lactation specialist, Mary-Kate Nelson.”
The women veterans program manager oversees the women’s health programs at the Butler VA, which encompasses Butler, Clarion, Mercer, Armstrong and Lawrence counties. Additionally, there are community-based centers in Clearwater and Cranberry Township.
“We offer coordination for intimate partner violence, which is also something that we highlight in October as well as military sexual traumas,” Brown said. “We know a lot of our veterans, specifically women veterans have those experiences.”
Brown has spent the majority of her career working at Shadyside in the medical intensive care unit. Brown primarily interacted with cancer patients and oncology while working in the ICU at Shadyside.
“Being able to spend that time with someone and care for them, encourage and empower them to take control of their care in those really intimate moments in their lives was impactful,” said Brown.
Brown went to the Hillman Cancer Center because she wanted to learn more about oncology. During her time there, she worked in breast cancer research as well as gastrointestinal and hematologic cancers like Leukemia and lymphoma.
“I worked with patients with those diagnoses and learned about empowering your patients and how just being present and an energy to support them through that troubling time was something I was good at,” said Brown. “Empathy is a strong suit for me.
“If I can support you through those intimate moments and really difficult times that you’re having, if I can hold that space for you for just a moment in time you can feel some refuge or some reprieve from all that you’re going through, that’s what I want to do,” Brown continued.
Brown herself is not a veteran, but a lot of her family and friends are.
“They’ve all been very influential in my life and supportive of me,” Brown said.
“Being able to give back to our women veterans is rewarding in itself,” said Brown. “Being able to support, empower and give them resources to take control of their lives and healthcare is my calling. Supporting people through hard moments and difficult times is what I am meant to do.”
Brown recognizes there is a difference between being in the ICU and moving into women’s health and outpatient health. But there are also similarities, she said.
“There is still a lot of heartache, stress and things that women veterans go through that I’m able to use the skills I learned in palliative situations to support them through what they’re going through,” Brown said. “Part of our goal for 2022 is to integrate into the community and attend events to get a sense of each community and connect with people where they live.
“We are all a community and we want to make sure that the people at the farthest stretch of our communities still feel like they’re part of the whole picture.”
