Department of Veterans Affairs Goes Social

In an effort to help break down long-perceived barriers between the Department of Veterans Affairs and its stakeholders, the VA announced that it has established Facebook pages for all 152 of its medical centers. By leveraging Facebook, the department hopes to continue expanding access to the VA and embrace transparency and two-way conversation.

The VA established a presence on Facebook in 2008 with a single Veterans Health Administration page. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki explained, "Veterans and their families told us from the beginning that they want to engage, and they want relevant information delivered at the local level.” So in June 2011, the VA outlined a department-wide social media policy that provided guidelines for communicating with Veterans Affairs online...