VA Puget Sound Health Care System

The VA Puget Sound Health Care System operates two main campuses: a medical center on Beacon Hill in Seattle, Washington, and the American Lake campus in Lakewood near Tacoma. The Seattle campus carries the acute inpatient and surgical load, while American Lake handles substantial mental health, extended care, and rehabilitation work. An affiliation with the University of Washington School of Medicine makes the system a major teaching site for residents, fellows, and health professions students, and it supports one of the largest research programs in the VA, drawing referrals from across the Northwest and Alaska.

Services include inpatient medical and surgical care, intensive care, surgery, primary care, and an extensive range of outpatient specialty clinics, alongside mental and behavioral health programs covering outpatient treatment, PTSD care, substance use treatment, and outreach to veterans experiencing homelessness. A spinal cord injury center provides specialized rehabilitation and long-term care. Extended care and rehabilitation support an aging veteran population, and community-based clinics extend access across western Washington. Nurses practice across critical care, medical-surgical, perioperative, spinal cord injury, outpatient, mental health, and long-term care settings, with roles differing considerably between the two campuses.