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How To Become Hospital Facilitie

A Guide for Hospital Facilities
Enroll via Optum →
Enroll via TriWest

DCP Hub · Clinical Education

Hospital

Welcome to Veterans Desk, your trusted resource for helping healthcare facilities serve veterans across the country. This guide is designed for licensed hospitals—including general, pediatric, rural, and women’s specialty institutions—interested in joining the VA Community Care Network (CCN).

As a participating facility, you’ll provide essential inpatient and emergency care to veterans, including women veterans, children of veterans, and individuals living in remote or underserved areas.

Step-by-Step Enrollment in the VA CCN

1

Verify Your Credentials

  • Your hospital must meet the following criteria:

    • Hold a state licensure as a hospital
    • Be Medicare-certified
    • Maintain current accreditation by an approved body (e.g., The Joint Commission, DNV, or HFAP)

2

Prepare Required Documents

  • Collect and organize the following documents:

    • State hospital license and accreditation certificate
    • W-9 form
    • CMS certification number
    • Proof of liability coverage
    • 24/7 emergency contact information
      Any specialty service designations (e.g., CAH, OB unit, NICU)

3

Submit Your Application

Apply through your region’s CCN administrator:

Optum — Regions 1–3 →
TriWest — Regions 4–5 →

4

Complete Required Training

After application submission, hospital leadership may need to complete onboarding and training, which may include:

  • VA specialty care coordination
  • HIPAA compliance and veteran-specific privacy training
  • Emergency care authorization and referral protocols

Access training at the VA Provider Training Portal.

VHA TRAIN Portal →

5

Credentialing & Facility Review

  • Your hospital will undergo a VA or third-party credentialing process, which may include:

    • Review of accreditation, licensure, and CMS standing
    • Assessment of emergency and specialty capabilities
    • Verification of telehealth, maternity, or pediatric service availability

6

Finalize VA Contract

  • Upon approval, your hospital will receive a formal agreement defining service expectations, billing codes, reimbursement models, and communication protocols with VA case managers.
VA CCN Enrollment Page →

Why Hospital Facilities Matter to Veterans

About This Specialty

Hospitals play a critical role in the VA’s ability to deliver accessible, high-quality care, especially when VA Medical Centers are at capacity or unavailable in a veteran’s region.

Your hospital’s role in the VA CCN may include:

  • General Acute Care Hospitals: Delivering emergency, surgical, and trauma care for complex medical needs
  • Children’s Hospitals: Treating pediatric dependents of veterans through CHAMPVA and other VA-authorized programs
  • Critical Access Hospitals (CAH): Providing vital inpatient care in remote and frontier areas
  • Rural Hospitals: Ensuring timely access to emergency and acute care near veterans’ homes
  • Women’s Specialty Hospitals: Supporting maternity care, OB/GYN services, and gender-specific health for women veterans

Key Benefits of Joining the VA CCN

Reimbursement for Core Hospital Services

Including inpatient care, emergency interventions, labor and delivery, ICU stays, and specialty consults

Integrated Veteran Care

Collaborate with VA maternity care coordination teams, specialty clinics, and telehealth networks

Serve Diverse Populations

Support veterans in rural settings, women veterans, and pediatric dependents.

Emergency Coverage

Billable 24/7 emergency and stabilization services authorized by the VA

Career Support & Military Pathways

Education Support for Clinical Staff & Career Advancement

  • Hospitals that support clinical training or hire recent graduates may benefit from VA-sponsored education programs:
  • GI Bill® – For nursing, hospital administration, and allied health training
  • VR&E (Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment) – Assists veterans entering healthcare roles
  • Yellow Ribbon Program – Supports graduate-level medical and administrative education.
  • Tuition Top-Up Benefits – Covers additional education costs beyond VA’s standard limits.

VA Loan Repayment & Staffing Incentives

  • If your hospital employs licensed physicians, nurses, or behavioral health professionals, they may be eligible for:
  • Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) – Offers loan repayment for eligible VA-partnered clinical staff
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) – Available to employees at nonprofit and government-aligned institutions
  • Incentives for Rural & Underserved Care – Additional loan repayment or stipends may be available for working in medically underserved areas.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Prenatal care, labor and delivery, and postpartum services are reimbursed under VA Maternity Care Coordination when authorized.

Yes. Medicare-certified CAHs and rural hospitals that are CCN-approved are fully eligible to provide reimbursable care to veterans.

 Yes. Pediatric hospitals can receive reimbursement for authorized care under CHAMPVA or other VA-covered programs when the dependent is eligible and services are pre-approved.

Ready to Join

Start Your VA CCN Enrollment Today

Licensed Hospital Facilities can begin the enrollment process in the VA Community Care Network through Optum (Regions 1–3) or TriWest (Regions 4–5). Veterans Desk provides education. The VA’s administrators handle enrollment.

Enroll via Optum →
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Disclaimer. Veterans Desk is a Florida 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is not a HIPAA-covered entity and is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any federal agency. All content on this page is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or clinical advice. Veterans Desk does not collect, store, or transmit Protected Health Information (PHI). Enrollment eligibility, reimbursement terms, and credentialing requirements are determined solely by the VA, Optum, and TriWest — verify current requirements directly with those organizations. Emergency: 911 | Veterans Crisis Line: 988 (Press 1) | Text 838255.