Dear NOVA nurses,

In October NOVA held the 45th Annual Conference in Nashville, TN, which was another great success! While we may have been a small group , we were a mighty group. I would like to recognize and thank the Chairpersons of the NOVA Annual Meeting Planning Committee: Michelle Salazar- Rodriquez and Rockne Jacque as well as all the committee members. Over the past year they worked diligently to ensure that an informative and memorable two-day event took place to educate nurses.

A recent proposal to remove nursing from the list of professional degrees has angered nurses across the U.S. Rightfully so! The potential changes may remove some loans reserved for professional degrees, make it more expensive for nurses to attend educational institutions as well as increase the nursing shortage. These proposed changes also included physician assistants, physical therapists and social workers - all which impact the nursing care that we deliver. I want to take a moment to remind all nurses what it means to be professional. Professionalism in nursing is not just a degree. It is ingrained in our core values such as integrity, compassion and accountability that you demonstrate through your dedication, advocacy for Veterans and commitment to improving care. I ask that you consider attending NOVA Hill Day March 18-19, 2026 and advocate for nursing to remain a professional degree so that we can ensure the next generation of nurses are ready to care for veterans. This is your opportunity to speak up about the impact that this change would have on nursing and patient care!

As the year comes to a close my term as President also comes to an end. It has been my honor to represent VA and NOVA nurses over the past two years. We have faced an ever-changing landscape in how we deliver care to the Veterans. Representing NOVA legislatively has been a fulfilling part of my Presidency. But it does not end there. As the Immediate Past President, I will continue to work diligently to represent NOVA nurses and to ensure that your ability to provide quality care to the Veterans continues.

As the past year has been difficult to say the least and we do not know what the upcoming year has in store for all of us, remember the work you do every day is rewarding and makes a difference in the lives of the Veterans you care for!

Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season

Cathy Giasson

NOVA President

Nancy Claflin DNP MS RN NEA-BC CENP CNEcl CCRN CPHQ FNAHQ

Chair, NOVA Education Committee

NOVA provides live webinars every month and the webinars are available on the NOVA website after the presentation.  NOVA is in the third year of our three year Caring for Veterans Program.  The webinars in this program provide information on veteran healthcare topics to help VA nurses care for veterans.  They are especially helpful for new nursing graduates and nurses new to the VA.  These webinars make excellent additions to nursing orientation and transition to practice programs. 

In the next few months NOVA is presenting webinar topics specifically designed for VA nurses.  If you can’t see it live, watch it on the NOVA website.  Webinars are scheduled at 12:30pm ET.  On December 9, Nancy Claflin DNP MS RN NEA-BC CENP CNEcl CCRN CPHQ FNAHQ will present “The Power of Advocacy – NOVA Caring for Veterans and Fighting for VA Nurses for 45 Years”  at 12:30pm ET.  This webinar will be on the NOVA website after the presentation.  This is a great webinar for an inservice in your facility.  As a NOVA member, you can register for the webinar, and then schedule a room in your facility to show the webinar.  You can send an email from your private email address to VA nurses with information about the webinar.   You can also post flyers on bulletin boards to let people know about the webinar.  Have people sign an attendance sheet, and send it to nova@vanurse.org after the webinar so people who attend can receive an evaluation and a continuing education certificate as NOVA is also an accredited provider of nursing continuing development credits (NCPD).   This webinar is helpful for chapters and members to share what NOVA has done for VA nurses and encourage VA nurses to join NOVA.

Remember that you can always access webinars on the NOVA website https://www.vanurse.org/page/memberonlywebinars.  Webinars currently available include:  A Look into VA Community Care; Acute Pain Management;  Adjustment Disorders; Addressing Homelessness and the HUD-VASH Program; Aromatherapy in Nursing; Breast and Cervical Screening Updates; Caregiver Support Program; Caring for Veterans with Rehabilitative Needs; Eligibility for VA Care, Compensation, and Pension; Empowering Seamless Transitions:  Enhancing Care Coordination Through the VA Consult Toolbox; Evaluating Your Self-Assessment for Promotion to Nurse II with Educational Waiver,  Evaluating Your Self-Assessment for Promotion to Nurse III Gulf War Illness; Guarding the Frontline:  A Powerful Approach to Preventing Workplace Violence; Hospice and Palliative Care; Managing Holiday Stress; Military Sexual Trauma/Intimate Partner Violence; Nurse Safety Proactive Personal Protection; Organ, Eye, and Tissue Donation; Phototherapy; Primary Care Virtual Diabetes Clinic; Providing Equitable Healthcare for LGBTQ+ Veterans; SAAs, SAPs, and Cash Awards; Safe Patient Handling; Substance Use Disorders; Suicide Prevention Strategies; Understanding Depression:  Recognizing, Treating, and Supporting; VA Community Care Quality Improvement Program Train the Trainer:  Veteran Specific Population; Veterans Justice Outreach; Visually Impaired and Blind Veterans and Blind Rehabilitation Services; Waking  Up to New Science on Why You Can’t Sleep and What You Can Do About it; What is PTSD and How Do You Address it with Veterans?; Whole Health; and Wound Care.

The Veteran’s Benefits Improvement Act of 1994, PL 103-446, was signed into law in November 1994. It provided compensation on a presumptive basis to Persian Gulf veterans suffering from undiagnosed illnesses that may have resulted from service in the Persian Gulf, and ordered the VA to conduct and complete a study to evaluate the health status of spouses and children of Persian Gulf veterans by March 1, 1997. It also doubled the number of homeless veterans centers demonstration programs from four to eight and charged the Secretary to take whatever actions are necessary to ensure that federal agencies provide assistance to homeless individuals. It allowed for report of a medical examination by a private physician to be used in support of a claim for benefits and simplified requirements for reporting. Finally, the law reduced DVA’s contribution to the Federal Work Force Restructuring Act from 27,000 to 10,000 job cuts.

In 1995, 5ith the support of NOVA, Secretary Jesse Brown, and Deputy Secretary Hershel Gober, as well as with the collective wisdom of the Task Force on Reorganization of the Chief Nurse to a position of Associate Director for Nursing Service/Patient Care Services. NOVA’s outstanding report of the Advance Practice Task Force was sent to Central Office. The major issues of concern to the task force, credentialing, privileging, scope of practice, prescriptive authority, and salary, have been reviewed and are being integrated by VACO into national policy formulation. The NOVA Task Force will provide the initial infrastructure for a system wide network of APNs, addressing strategic planning and communication regarding the role and functions of Advanced Practice Nurses in the VA health care system.  On April 6, 1995, NOVA President Lynna Smith presented both written and oral testimony to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Hospitals and Health Care on Veterans Health Administration’s Reorganization Proposal.

NOVA President Lynna Smith presented both written and oral testimony to the Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Hospitals and Health Care on VHA Reorganization Proposal.

NOVA has been working tirelessly for over 45 years fighting for proper care of our Veterans and VA nurses nationwide. Our members have made huge strides working directly with the federal government paving the way for VA nurses to access better pay, benefits, education and more. History teaches us that NOVA membership is essential for Veteran care. We invite you to join our efforts so together we can define the moment today for what our VA nurses and Veterans deserve.

The Top 10 Moments That Redefined VA Nursing:

• The Cadet Nurse Bill, HR 2663 was initiated by a NOVA nurse, Angela Bohannon and the Topeka NOVA Chapter, and signed into law by President Reagan.

• Thanks to NOVA Congress passed a law giving VA nurses Saturday premium pay, tuition reimbursement, and recruitment and retention bonuses. It also required that the Chief Nurse be on policy making and fiscal committees in the facility, and that VA completed a study of recruitment issues.

• NOVA realized a significant accomplishment with the passage of the Nurse Pay Act of 1990, establishing a system of competitive pay for VA nurses allowing local VA medical centers to offer salaries competitive with those offered by other health care facilities in the same local market.

• NOVA worked to get PL 102-585 signed into law which revised nurse pay grade schedules, provided the authority to carry out surveys of labor markets in determining rates of compensation for healthcare professionals, including nurses; and revised the basis for calculating compensation of health care positions.

• NOVA accomplished a legislative priority with the Veterans’ Health Care Eligibility Reform Act of 1996 which overturned a 50-year-old law restricting full time RN employment outside the VA.

• NOVA and all VA RNs scored tremendous legislative victory with PL-106-419, the Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2000 which addressed pay issues affecting RNs, dentists, PAs, social workers, and pharmacists; impacted veterans’ benefits and authorization, mandated increased nursing input in senior management at VISNs and medical centers, and reformed the RN locality pay system. The locality pay changes included: cost-of-living increase; significant survey reform; oversight of medical center director RN salary decisions with authority to modify those decisions, and required annual nurse staffing reports. It also required VISN directors to consult senior nurse executives for patient care policies.

• Thanks to NOVA, President Bush signed the Veterans Affairs Health Care Improvement Act of 2001 (PL 107-135) into law. The act permanently authorizes the Employee Incentive Scholarship Program (EISP) for nurses, reduces the time nurses need to work at VA before they are eligible to receive a scholarship, and removes limits to the amount of money nurses can receive from VA for school, as long as that amount isn’t more than the equivalent of three years of full time study. The act also permanently authorizes VA’s Education Debt Reduction Program, which allows VA to help pay for nurse schooling, up to a total of $44,000.00, with the Secretary able to adjust that amount if needed to coincide with federal pay increases. It also mandates that VA provide Saturday premium pay to Licensed Practical Nurses; gives VA nurses enrolled in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) the ability to use unused sick leave as part of their retirement calculations, and requires the Secretary and Under Secretary for Health to establish a nationwide policy on nurse staffing standards for VA medical facilities. The legislation also requires the Secretary to evaluate nurse-managed clinics and determine whether they are feasible in the future, and to submit an annual report on what the DVA is doing to keep experienced nurses. The top VA nurse in Central Office reports directly to the Under Secretary for Health, another recognition of the importance of nurses in our health care system. It exempts RNs, physicians, and some dental technicians from the government wide requirement that part time government service performed before April 7, 1986, be prorated in calculating their retirement. It establishes a National Commission on VA Nursing.

• NOVA scored a significant legislative victory with the passage of Senate Bill 1156, the Veterans Health Care, Capital Asset, and Business Improvement Act of 2003 which improved appointment and promotion processes, requiring input from VA nurses and expanded Saturday premium pay.

• NOVA scored a significant legislative victory with Senate Bill 2484 which simplified pay provisions for physicians and dentists, authorized alternate work schedules (three 12-hr tours of duty for full time, work 9 months & get 3 months off; authorized executive pay for nurses from $10,000-$25,000), and required VA to certify to Congress that each VA has a policy designed to prevent nurses working more than 12 consecutive hours or more than 60 hours in a week.

• NOVA launched a series of educational webinars free to NOVA members and became am accredited provider of Nursing Continuing Professional Development credits through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).NOVA launched the program to assist NOVA nurses in writing self-assessments for promotion.

To learn more about NOVA’s impact on Veteran care, listen to our recent podcast episode featuring two nurses who stand at the forefront of NOVA’s mission!

Join NOVA today and stand up for better Veteran care.

Heard on the Hill 
September/October 2025 

We are officially in a government shutdown after the Senate failed to secure the sixty votes needed to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to fund agencies before the September 30 fiscal year (FY26) deadline.

VA’s advanced appropriations mean Veterans healthcare and benefits will continue unaffected, but concerns remain about potential layoffs if the shutdown continues for any length of time - many reports have noted the Administration's willingness to continue downsizing agencies. 

I urge all of you to continue your advocacy on behalf of VA and let your congressional members know what you need to take care of Veterans. Remind them about NOVA’s opposition to bills that will drain VA of its internal services.

Get to know several bills NOVA is monitoring that have been frequently discussed during this session. H.R. 740/S. 275, the “Veterans’ Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers (ACCESS) Act of 2025.” These companion bills contain provisions which, if enacted, may significantly affect future veterans' access to VHA health care and services.

NOVA is advocating against several harmful provisions in the bill that would:

1. Allow a veteran’s “preference” for the first time, to automatically afford eligibility for community care. This would erode the VHA’s organizing foundation, which may eventually lead to changes in its staffing levels, in-house programs, and facility operations.
2. Permit veterans to access private sector healthcare without VHA referral, pre-authorization, or oversight that will also alter the integrated care model of the VHA, shifting its primary function from a provider of healthcare to a payer for private sector services.
3. While the intention is to vastly expand veterans’ preference and choice, these changes reduce healthcare options for many veterans when specialized VHA programs and facilities are scaled back or closed.

Removing the VHA as the authorizer of care may eventually decrease available choices for veterans. As funds shift to the private sector, some veterans—particularly those with service-connected conditions who depend primarily on the VHA—could face fewer opportunities to select VHA services if essential units and programs are discontinued.

The bill cost would also drain internal VHA accounts – risking privatization of many VA services.

As we move into the final months of the first session of the 119th Congress, I encourage all of you to call your congressional offices and let them know that NOVA opposes the ACCESS Act as currently written.

Your voice is critical during this extraordinary time. VA faces many changes, but one thing remains certain – it is where most Veterans choose to receive their care.

For information on the ACCESS Act / statement for the record, here is an article published by the Veterans Healthcare Policy Veterans-ACCESS-Act-VHPI-analysis-2.15.25.pdf