{"id":582445,"date":"2025-08-11T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=582445"},"modified":"2025-08-11T15:55:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T15:55:13","slug":"whole-health-at-va-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=582445","title":{"rendered":"Whole Health at VA Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"

Enter through the front doors of the H. John Heinz III campus<\/a> of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System<\/a> on any given day and you might see Veterans doing yoga, tai chi, weightlifting and any number of other physical activities.<\/p>\n

What you\u2019re really seeing as you watch exercisers stretch and curl dumbbells and log their steps on treadmills is Veterans getting better and growing stronger\u2014Veterans supporting one another and reclaiming their lives. That\u2019s because Veterans in the Whole Health<\/a> program at VA Pittsburgh are building more than just muscle\u2014they\u2019re building vitality, community and the future of health care.<\/p>\n

For Drs. Scott Herrle and Nathan Blakeley, who started in their roles in the Whole Health program nearly four years ago, their motivation goes much deeper than fitness. It is embedded in the very core of Veteran wellness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think about putting the Veteran at the center of their care and really supporting them with all these measures that will improve their health, Whole Health is the perfect setup for that,\u201d said Herrle, the chief and clinical director of Whole Health at VA Pittsburgh. \u201c[It has] become my professional mission, aspiration and purpose to realize we need to grow [Whole Health], and we need to make this available to every Veteran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exercise is key<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>
Army Veteran Tim Mahon walks on a treadmill. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

When Herrle and Blakeley first started working in Whole Health<\/a> in September 2021, they did so without any dedicated employees. With no designated areas for exercises in those early days, they used hallways and borrowed spaces. However, their vision was clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided to make exercise a key focus of our Whole Health program,\u201d Herrle said. \u201cI literally have a patient [who] walks up to me every day and tells me how these programs have helped them.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those patients is Tim Mahon, an Army Veteran who struggled with weight gain, diabetes and severely reduced mobility. \u201cI could walk from the bed to the couch and had to take a nap,\u201d he recalled of his condition when he was first referred to Whole Health. Back then, it was a challenge for Mahon to get out of his chair and lift one-pound dumbbells.<\/p>\n

Another patient, Air Force Veteran Ray Cvetic, suffered from heart disease, a sleep disorder, multiple back conditions and a stroke complicated by several bouts of COVID-19. On a trip to Scotland with his wife, Cvetic could barely walk.<\/p>\n

Both Veterans enrolled in group classes, participating in offerings such as yoga, tai chi, weightlifting and balance exercises. In the span of a year and a half, Mahon is curling 40-pound dumbbells. A diehard Steelers fan, he promises to someday climb the steps of Acrisure Stadium\u2014that is, if his hometown team holds up its end of the bargain by making the playoffs.<\/p>\n

As for Cvetic, he credits Whole Health with enabling him to cut back on his medications. These days, he is also walking without the use of a cane and plans to go hiking with his wife in Iceland later this year. \u201cI can lay on the floor facedown right now, and I can get myself up. That\u2019s what they did for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We want dignity and health\u2019<\/h2>\n

Veterans like Mahon and Cvetic attribute their remarkable progress to Herrle, Blakeley and the rest of the clinical support system at VA Pittsburgh. But there\u2019s another key component they hold in perhaps an even higher regard: their admiration for each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhole Health is Veterans helping Veterans,\u201d Mahon said. \u201cIf you\u2019re going through something, no matter what it may be, whatever ailment you have, whatever problem you may have, someone in that classroom\u2019s been through it and can help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cvetic agrees. \u201cWhat I feel when I come here, I feel the warmth of the staff, I feel the camaraderie with the Vets. We don\u2019t want operations, we don\u2019t want money. We want dignity and health, and that\u2019s what Whole Health has given me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whole Health Veteran Stories: Veteran Shares His Journey to Whole Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Watch Veteran Tim Mahon share his story.<\/a><\/p>\n

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