About VACREF

The VA Connecticut Research and Education Foundation (VACREF) was incorporated in the State of Connecticut on January 7, 2005 and is a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt corporation.

The United States Congress delegated to the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs the authority to oversee the operations of the nonprofit corporations affiliated with VA medical centers. The congressional intent in enabling the creation of these corporations is to provide VA facilities with a flexible funding mechanism for the conduct of research as well as staff and patient education.

Through the research efforts of our 150 Principal Investigators and their staffs our goal is to improve the health of our veterans, whether through advances in basic science, innovations in rehabilitation programs or improvements in systems for the delivery of health care. The VA Connecticut Healthcare System is affiliated with the medical schools of both Yale University and the University of Connecticut. Nearly all members of the VACHS medical staff have dual appointments as both VA physicians and medical school faculty members. These university affiliations allow VA Connecticut to participate in the education and training of more than 700 physicians and students each year in allied health disciplines such as nursing, X-ray, pharmacy, physical/occupational therapy, social work, laboratory and nuclear medicine.

The range of research activities at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System is broad and includes special emphasis on biomedical, health services, rehabilitation engineering, mental health and geriatric research endeavors. VACREF also supports various educational instruction and other learning experiences of benefit to employees and veterans.