Connecting With Soldiers

All 152 of the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department’s medical centers are now connected to Facebook.

“Veterans and their families told us from the beginning that they want to engage and they want relevant information delivered at the local level,” says V.A. Secretary Eric Shinseki. “By leveraging Facebook, the department continues to expand access to V.A. and embrace transparency and two-way conversation.”

Veterans Affairs started with one Facebook page in 2008. It now has its own YouTube channel, 64 Twitter feeds, a Flickr page and the veteran-run VAntage Point blog. The next step is for every medical center to create a presence on Twitter as well, the V.A. said in a recent news release.

A review of Facebook pages for four V.A. medical centers indicated that the centers are publishing primarily general medical news bulletins and practical information on V.A. benefits, as well as notices of bake sales, holiday events and commemorative events.

The V.A. has more than 345,000 combined Facebook subscribers. V.A.’s main Facebook page has more than 154,000 fans, and its medical centers have a combined circulation of more than 69,000. The department plans to continue expanding its Facebook presence as well as bring Twitter to every V.A. medical center.

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