Orlando VA Medical Center

The Orlando VA Medical Center anchors the VA's presence in central Florida from a purpose-built campus in Lake Nona, a planned medical district on the southeast side of Orlando. Opened in the mid-2010s, it is among the newest hospitals in the VA system, and its surroundings set it apart: the campus sits alongside the University of Central Florida's medical school, a children's hospital, and research institutes, which supports academic affiliations and teaching alongside clinical care. Community-based outpatient clinics extend access across Orange, Osceola, Brevard, Volusia, Lake, and surrounding counties.

Services include inpatient medical and surgical care, intensive care, surgery, primary care, and outpatient specialty clinics, alongside mental and behavioral health programs covering outpatient treatment, PTSD care, substance use treatment, and outreach to veterans experiencing homelessness. Extended care through a community living center and rehabilitation services support an aging veteran population, and central Florida's large retiree population weights the patient mix accordingly. Nurses practice across critical care, medical-surgical, perioperative, outpatient, mental health, and long-term care settings in facilities considerably newer than most VA hospitals. Nursing positions fall under federal employment, so pay, benefits, and advancement follow VA structures.