Mississippi State University’s Center for America’s Veterans will be hosting a Veterans Affairs Health Fair on Wednesday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. in the Union.
 The health fair will be held in order to benefit MSU student veterans by giving them a chance to enroll in the VA’s medical system.
According to Ronnie White,  assistant director of the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for Veterans Affairs, veterans who are currently attending school will be able to enroll and receive free benefits.
“If (veterans) enroll as a student in the VA medical system, then they have VA medical care for five years,” White said. “If they have an illness or some kind of (health) problem, then they can go to the VA and receive VA medical.”
Fred Nichols, chief business officer of the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery VA Medical Center, said the purpose of the health fair is two-fold.
“One (purpose of the fair) is to determine whether or not the veteran is eligible for health care from the VA Health care System,” Nichols said. “The other purpose is to give an eligible veteran a wellness examination that day and enroll him/her into our primary care at our medical center or our community-based outpatient clinic located in Columbus, Mississippi.”
Nichols said many student veterans fail to take advantage of this opportunity because they currently have no major health issues. He also said students who receive health care from another provider still able to enroll in the VA’s medical system.
“We hope that veterans will use the VA as their preferred health provider, (but) there is no requirement to do so to maintain eligibility,” Nichols said. “Veterans can use their VA health care eligibility to complement their existing health plan by taking advantage of some of our cost-free services, such as annual wellness check-ups, if eligible.”
Nichols also said there is an additional benefit for recent veterans who served in a combat zone during Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. He said this benefit includes an enhanced health benefit of five years free medical care and medications for treatment of conditions that are potentially related to their combat service. 
“Veterans who enroll with VA under this enhanced authority will continue to be enrolled in the VA health care system even after their enhanced eligibility period ends,” Nichols said,  “although they may be shifted to a different enrollment priority group, depending on their income level, and required to make applicable co-payments.  We will have post-deployment and readjustment counselors present to discuss these enhanced benefits with any veterans who participated in these combat operations.”
White said the VA Medical Center at MSU currently serves over 2,100 students, and around 380 to 400 of those students have been deployed at some point.
“(For student veterans), the transition piece of coming from where they were to here is hard,” White said. “Actually, some do very well, (but) some don’t do very well. A lot of it depends on when they were in the military, what they saw and a lot of different things.”
Nichols, an MSU alumnus and an Army veteran, said he encourages all veterans to check their eligibility and find whether or not they are eligible for benefits.
“After serving over 20 years of active duty in the Army and as a Combat Veteran of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and now as a VA employee, it is an honor and privilege to serve our returning heroes and to ensure that they receive all the benefits for which their service to our country entitles them to,” Nichols said.