On Veterans Day 2016, the gratitude of a nation turns to those who have served and sacrificed for our country, and in particular to Veterans Affairs who help care Veterans around the Nation.

Veterans Affairs, the most widely known organization for caring for Veterans in the USA, was founded in 1930. However it has an origin extending back as far as 150 years before. This government run organization has continued to build upon its ‘Noble Dream to Honor Our Patriots’.

While there are many challenges still facing the VA today, we believe it is also important to recognize how Veterans Affairs helps veterans.

Here are 10 ways the Veterans Affairs cares for Veterans in 2016:

1) Reduced waiting times – VA has dramatically reduced waiting times for patient access to doctors. Since the program started in 1999, national waiting times for the next available appointment dropped by 53 percent, from 60 days to 28 days.

2) Access to Health Records – VA’s online personal health record, My HealtheVet, provides America’s Veterans access to personal, secure, up to date health information. Registrants can request VA prescription refills online and the refills are delivered to Veterans’ homes in 5 to 10 business days.

3) Reducing Claims Backlog – The Veterans Affairs claims backlog has been reduced from peak of 611,000 in 2013 to 140,703 in 2015, This a 77% reduction in 26 months. Because of this Veterans are waiting, an average of 156 days less for a claim decision compared to March 2013.

4) Healthcare Training for Doctors – The VA trains 120,000 healthcare professionals a year, more than any other system in the United States. It is estimated that 70% of all U.S. doctors have trained with VA.

5) Providing Housing – The VA currently guarantees 2 million home loans. On top of this, the VA has maintained the lowest foreclosure rate (1.4%) in the industry for 25 of the last 8 years when compared to all other types of home loans.

6) Attracting and Keeping Doctors – Since 2014, the VA has increased staffing by 1,086 Physicians, 2,724 Nurses, and 4,671 other critical medical occupations.

7) Leading with Telehealth – VA is a national leader in Telehealth services. At the end of 2014, 12.7 percent of all Veterans received care through Telehealth. This accounts for more than 2 million Telehealth visits per year.

8) Enhancing Female Veterans Care – VA has enhanced provision of care to female Veterans by developing Designated Women’s Health Providers (DWHP) at every site where women access VA. The VA has trained over 2,000 providers in Women’s Healthcare to ensure that every woman Veteran has the opportunity to receive her primary care from a DWHP.

9) Fighting Veteran Homelessness – In 2014 alone, VA provided services to more than 260,000 homeless or at-risk Veterans in VHA’s homeless programs. Over 72,000 Veterans were either placed in permanent housing or prevented from becoming homeless.

10) Leading the Digital Healthcare Revolution – Under VA’s technology initiatives, one major achievement has been its transition from a paper-intensive process to a fully electronic processing system. Today, 94 percent of the disability claims are billed electronically, greatly reducing its environmental impact.

For these efforts, we salute Veterans Affairs for their continued support and care for Veterans, today on Veteran’s Day, and every single day of the year.