Local brief
Bay Pines VA runs advance care planning workshops so Veterans can put their health care wishes in writing
Enrolled Veterans and their loved ones can learn about advance directives at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center campus on the first and third Wednesday of each month, and at the Lee County Healthcare Center on the first Tuesday. Notice Nearby brief, not Legal Publication.
Bay Pines VA Healthcare System is offering Advance Care Planning workshops to help enrolled Veterans decide and document their health care wishes before a medical crisis, according to a VA News story featured in the Veterans Health Administration's Oct. 5, 2026, newsletter.
When and where, per VA: the workshops meet at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center campus in Bay Pines on the first and third Wednesday of each month, and at the Lee County Healthcare Center on the first Tuesday of each month. Each is a one-time session; Veterans can bring their loved ones.
What you get: education on advance directives (the documents that say what care you want and who decides if you can't speak for yourself), help talking through your values, and support from VA social workers in completing the paperwork. Bay Pines started the program in November 2025 as part of a national VA initiative.
Why it matters, in a Veteran's words: Army Veteran Marvin Dalzell told VA he and his wife had directives that were out of date, and the workshop helped them bring everything current. "They don't push. They guide you," he said of the social workers. Think of it as updating your emergency contacts, except these contacts actually get the final say.
How to join: Veterans enrolled at Bay Pines VA can ask their VA care team or social worker about the next workshop. Veterans not yet enrolled can apply for VA health care online at VA.gov.
If you or a Veteran you know is in crisis, call or text 988 and press 1, or text 838255, to reach the Veterans Crisis Line, available 24 hours a day.
Sources: VA News, "Bay Pines VA offers advance care planning workshops": https://news.va.gov/149767/planning-ahead-helps-take-control-future-care/ ; Veterans Health Administration newsletter, Oct. 5, 2026: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USVHA/bulletins/42dfcbf ; apply for VA health care: https://www.va.gov/health-care/how-to-apply/
Photo: The pond and palm-lined grounds of the Bay Pines VA Medical Center in Bay Pines, Florida, by Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Source: the public notice on this register NN-PUBDESK-20261005-PINELLASFL-08 · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs · VA News / Veterans Health newsletter · Bay Pines VA advance care planning workshops · Oct. 5, 2026.
This is a Notice Nearby local brief — an in-house explainer written from a government-posted notice on this register. It is not official minutes, not a newspaper story, and not Legal Publication.