VHF was founded in 1991 in response to legislation to serve as a research and education foundation for the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System as an independent 501(c)3 non-profit corporation working within the VA.
VA-affiliated Nonprofit Corporations (NPCs) were authorized by Congress in 1988 to provide flexible funding mechanisms for the conduct of research and education activities at VA medical centers. Veterans Health Foundation, formerly Veterans Research Foundation of Pittsburgh, was established in 1991 to advance VA Pittsburgh's research and education programs.
As a state-incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit research corporation, VHF has greater flexibility to operate and engage with non-federal entities outside the restrictions of federal acquisition regulations.
One of the ways VHF works to fulfill its mission is by engaging in sponsored health and medical research and education projects funded by federal and state agencies, industry, foundations, and other philanthropic groups to bring more opportunities to VA hospitals and the Veterans they serve. Today, VHF administers over 60 grants and contracts for projects that address the healthcare needs of Veterans in PA, including work in basic science, multitherapeutic clinical trials, combatting the opioid epidemic, promoting diversity and inclusion in health-related research training, preventing suicide, improving the quality of women’s cancer care, addressing racial disparities in medication adherence, and understanding the risk factors and predictors of COVID-19 severity in high-risk populations.