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About us

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At VA Bedford Healthcare System, we’re dedicated to improving the lives of you and your family every day.
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At VA Bedford Healthcare System, we’re dedicated to improving the lives of Veterans and their families every day.
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About VA Bedford Healthcare System 

VA Bedford Healthcare System provides you with outstanding health care, trains America’s future health care providers, and conducts important medical research.  

Health care and services

We provide you with health care services at four locations serving Veterans in Middlesex and Essex counties in Massachusetts. Facilities include our Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans’ Hospital in Bedford, and three community-based outpatient clinics in Lynn, Haverhill, and Gloucester. To learn more about the services each location offers, visit the VA Bedford health services page.

Our mental health programs include vocational services, peer services, homeless services, and outpatient mental health services. Our mental health service line is a nationally recognized leader in the areas of psychosocial rehabilitation, research, and education. 

VA Bedford Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the VA New England Healthcare System. We’re an innovative care center within VA New England Healthcare System (VISN 1), which includes medical centers and clinics in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island.  

Learn more about VISN 1 

Research and development

At Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, we conduct research to discover knowledge, develop VA scientists and health care leaders, and create innovations that advance health care for Veterans and the nation. We offer Veterans the opportunity to participate in and benefit from our work. Our goal is to use research to promote better health and health care for all. 

Our research department is internationally recognized for its study of geriatric and behavioral research. We use non-VA funding sources like universities, charitable foundations, and for-profit companies to fund our research and education. In doing so, we support the health and well-being of Veterans and the general population. 

Our funding is administered by Bedford VA Research Corp., Inc. (BRCI). BRCI is a stand-alone, non-profit, tax exempt company that receives no financial support from VA. Contributions to BRCI are tax-deductible. To donate, call 781-687-2958 or 781-687-2941. Learn more about our research efforts coming soon!

Major research areas include studies on: 

  • Alzheimer's Disease
  • Parkinson's Disease
  • Schizophrenia
  • Substance abuse
  • Basic neurobiology
  • Cancer
  • Immunology
  • Infectious disease
  • Cellular biochemistry

Teaching and learning

Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital is a teaching hospital that provides a full range of health services for Veterans, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research.  

Our academic affiliations include the Boston University School of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Lahey Hospital, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center,  St. Elizabeth's Hospital, and Steward Carney Hospital, and we have ongoing training programs and partnerships with more than 90 associated health and nursing academic affiliates. 

We’re proud of our partnerships with top institutions and organizations that support the educational mission of VA. 

Fast facts

  • VA Bedford Healthcare System converted former hospital smoking area structures into visitation cottages to keep inpatient Veterans safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, which became a national VA best practice 

  • Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital has a total of 426 operational beds, including 286 skilled nursing home beds 

  • Our hospital is named for Edith Nourse Rogers, the first woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts. She served from 1925 to 1960 in the House of Representatives, where she was well-known for her support of Veterans and the military

Accreditation and achievements

Our facilities and programs have received accreditation from: 

  • The Joint Commission (TJC)
  • Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF)
  • Long Term Care Institute, Inc. (LTCI)

VA Bedford Healthcare System has received the following awards: 

  • VA's HERO Award
  • Citizen Award for Telehealth

Annual reports and newsletters

Annual reports

Coming soon!

Newsletters