Veterans who have died serving our country are regularly recognized, but what about those who have served and survived? More than 550,000 veterans in Michigan need access to benefits, care, and resources.
Trinity Health serves the health challenges and concerns of veterans with dedicated and committed staff in the Grand Rapids area. Jennifer Chaffer, director of Community Health and Well-Being for Trinity Health Grand Rapids, is one of those individuals.
Chaffer has been a part of the Trinity Health family for 22 years and came into her current role almost two years ago. She has an educational and professional background in social work (she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan), and experience working in clinical child services.
She says she initially planned to work in medicine. “I started learning about the field of medical social work, which felt like a perfect fit because it allowed me to work in a hospital but to engage with people in a different way,” Chaffer explains. So instead, she is a helping professional with a medical provider based in the hospital.
Connecting veterans to services
Chaffer’s primary focus is ensuring the hospital supports programs in the community. Community assessments done every three years help identify the populations served by Trinity Health and the needs that impact their health. The most recent assessment in Grand Rapids focused on housing, health insurance, access to medical care, and access to healthy food across Kent County.
Chaffer is excited about Trinity Health’s work to make sure veterans have access to services in the areas of need highlighted by the community assessment, and says it has begun to produce meaningful engagement. This includes reaching out to veterans as well as those in positions with local organizations and their veterans’ departments to get the word out about available resources.
Last year, Trinity Health Grand Rapids welcomed a new onsite veteran service officer to assist military veterans and their families with Veterans Affairs benefits information, a partnership Chaffer is excited about. Trinity Health is the first private health system in Michigan to support such access.
She also ensures the hospital supports programs in Muskegon.
Chaffer says that she can’t imagine leaving West Michigan or her organization, which she says works so hard to engage with the community to make it a healthier and happier place.
“I’m proud to be here. I wish I could take credit, but it was underway before I was in this role. It’s been a privilege.”
To learn more about the services Trinity Health Michigan offers to veterans and their families, please visit:
https://www.trinityhealthmichigan.org/services/military-and-veteran-medicine.
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