Dr. Patricia Hayes: 2012 Finalist Career Achievement Award

Dr. Patricia Hayes' "Service to America Medals Career Achievement" biography reads: She is "an ambitious Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initiative to make the male-dominated medical system more responsive to the growing number of women who have served in the military.

As chief consultant on women's health care, Hayes has been responsible for the VA adopting a set of best practices for female patients, training more than 1,200 providers in women's health, designating 144 full-time female program managers around the country to promote health services for women, and driving a culture change initiative to make VA employees more responsive to women.

The number one difficulty has been the invisibility of women in the VA system, and the fact that people don't understand how many women are in the pipeline," said Hayes. "The VA needs to adjust its services for women. They are on our doorstep."

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