Women's Health Transition Training (WHTT): What Every Female Service Member Should Know

The VA estimates that fewer than half of women veterans use VA health care, and the number-one reason is awareness — many women don't know what's available to them. The Women's Health Transition Training (WHTT) is the official VA + DOD program designed to fix that.

WHTT v3.0 (July 2025) is the current version. It's free, optional, and available online or in-person. Here's what it covers and why every separating woman should take it.

What WHTT Is

WHTT is a 2-3 hour training (online self-paced or live virtual) that walks separating service members through:

• The Women Veterans Call Center (WVCC) — a single hotline staffed by women
• Gender-specific VA health care
• Maternity care eligibility for women veterans
• MST resources and claim processes
• Mental health services tailored to women
• Reproductive health, including newborn coverage
• IPV (intimate partner violence) Assistance Program
• Homelessness and housing programs
• Women veteran community resources (peer support, veteran service organizations)

The program is jointly run by the VA Center for Women Veterans and DOD Transition Assistance Program. It's a VA-DOD policy initiative — not a vendor product.

How to Take It

whtt.org is the program's central site. Three options:

1. Self-paced online module. ~2.5 hours. Closed-captioned. Mobile-friendly.
2. Live virtual workshop. Held monthly. Q&A with VA women's health staff.
3. In-person at participating installations. Schedule via your Transition Assistance Program (TAP) office.

Some installations integrate WHTT into TAP curriculum; others make it optional. Even if it's optional, take it. The content is dense and useful.

Key Program: Women Veterans Call Center

1-855-VA-WOMEN (1-855-829-6636)

Staffed by women veterans. Open 8 AM-10 PM ET, Mon-Fri; 8 AM-6:30 PM Saturdays.

What the WVCC does:

• Connects you with the right VA resources for your situation
• Helps you enroll in VA health care
• Refers you to a Women Veterans Program Manager (WVPM) at your local VAMC
• Triages benefits questions
• Offers warm transfers to MST coordinators, mental health, primary care

If you don't know where to start with the VA system, the WVCC is your starting point. Faster and friendlier than the general VA Benefits hotline (1-800-827-1000) for women-specific questions.

Women's Health Care at VA

VA health care for women includes:

• Primary care designated for women at every VAMC. Women's clinics with female providers (when requested) and trauma-informed care.
• Reproductive health. Annual well-woman exams, contraception, fertility services (eligibility-dependent), STI screening, and gynecological care.
• Maternity care. Full pregnancy care plus 7 days of newborn care from delivery (recently expanded).
• MST screening and treatment. Free, regardless of VA health care enrollment status, regardless of whether you've filed a disability claim.
• Specialty referrals. Mammography, breast cancer treatment, OB/GYN specialists, fertility specialists.

Maternity Care: Often Underused

Many separating women don't realize that VA covers full maternity care. If you're pregnant or planning to be:

• Prenatal visits
• Delivery (in a community hospital under VA contract — VA hospitals don't have L&D wards)
• Postpartum care
• 7 days of newborn care immediately after birth (covers the immediate post-delivery period)

After 7 days, the newborn needs separate insurance — typically your civilian employer's plan, your spouse's plan, or Medicaid/CHIP if income-eligible.

The 7-day window is a recent expansion (it was originally 3 days). Worth knowing because it's often underused.

MST Resources

Military Sexual Trauma is one of WHTT's biggest emphasis areas, and the VA has built a dedicated infrastructure:

• Free MST-related care at every VAMC, regardless of enrollment status or disability rating.
• MST Coordinators at every VAMC — trained specifically for trauma-informed care.
• Vet Centers offer MST counseling without VA enrollment, even for veterans with OTH discharges.
• MST disability claims can be filed without a contemporaneous in-service report (specific markers like behavioral changes, transfers, performance drops can substantiate).

If you experienced MST in service, the path to care is open whether or not you've filed a claim.

Mental Health

Women-specific programs include:

• Trauma-focused therapies: PE (Prolonged Exposure), CPT (Cognitive Processing Therapy), EMDR
• Women's Mental Health Programs at VAMCs with high female-veteran population
• Vet Center couples counseling (free, doesn't require VA enrollment)
• Crisis services: Veterans Crisis Line, Press 1 after 988

IPV Assistance Program

Intimate Partner Violence is a category of need the VA has specifically built infrastructure for:

• IPV Assistance Coordinators at every VAMC
• Safety planning with confidentiality
• Mental health services tied to IPV response
• Connection to community shelters and legal aid

The program serves both veterans experiencing IPV and veterans whose partners experience IPV.

Homelessness and Housing

Women veterans face higher homelessness risk than the general veteran population, particularly post-MST. VA programs include:

• HUD-VASH: rental subsidies + case management
• Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF): rapid rehousing
• Grant Per Diem: transitional housing
• Domiciliary care at VA medical facilities (limited beds)

1-877-4AID-VET (1-877-424-3838) is the homeless veterans hotline, 24/7.

Why Some Women Don't Engage

Common barriers WHTT addresses directly:

• "VA isn't for me — VA is for combat vets." False. VA care is for all veterans regardless of MOS.
• "VA care is bad for women." Outdated. The VA has invested heavily in women's health since 2010.
• "I'd rather see a civilian doctor." Fair, but VA covers what civilian insurance doesn't (PTSD treatment, MST care, service-connected conditions). Many women use VA for SC care and civilian for everything else.
• "I don't want anyone to know I served." VA care is confidential. Vet Centers offer confidential MST counseling that doesn't even appear in VA medical records.

What to Do First

1. Take WHTT — online at whtt.org before your separation, ideally 6-12 months out.
2. Enroll in VA health care at va.gov/health-care/apply.
3. Request a Women Veterans Program Manager at your assigned VAMC.
4. Save the WVCC number in your phone: 1-855-829-6636.
5. If you experienced MST, you can file a disability claim and access MST care simultaneously. They are not the same process, and you don't need to wait for one to use the other.

Related

• Women Veterans Center — full hub of programs and contacts
• MST and VA Care — sensitive landing with action steps
• VA Health Care Priority Groups — what care level you qualify for