PA Student and Veteran Austin Shinaberry is Passionate About Helping Other Veterans Access Their Healthcare Benefits

“For a lot of veterans, these VA benefits could be life-changing.”

November 8, 2024

By Jennifer Walker

Four years ago, Austin Shinaberry, a PA student and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, started talking with his mail carrier, Mike, a veteran of the U.S. Army, about their time in the service. Shinaberry asked Mike one of his go-to questions when he meets other veterans: “Do you collect benefits?” Mike said no. “I told him, I guarantee there’s benefits that you don’t realize you could be getting,” said Shinaberry, who offered to help Mike figure out his eligibility.

Shortly after, Mike came to Shinaberry’s apartment with his military documents. There, Shinaberry, who is also an emergency medical technician (EMT), gave Mike a brief medical exam, mainly looking at his back and knees, and asked questions to see if any of Mike’s injuries could potentially correlate with his time in the military. Then he helped Mike fill out paperwork to apply for benefits from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

One month later, after the VA had performed their evaluation, Shinaberry got a call from Mike. He had started receiving checks from the VA every month for an injury he acquired during his time in the service. “He also gets compensation for his daughter to go to school, and he gets free healthcare,” Shinaberry said. “He was very grateful.”

Shinaberry is committed to helping other veterans access their benefits, too—a passion he developed after another veteran, John Ziegler, did the same for him shortly after he left the service. At a VA in Tampa, Florida, John told Shinaberry about the education benefits he could access, which ultimately led Shinaberry to pursue a PA career and to look into his eligibility for disability and healthcare benefits. Now, Shinaberry uses the knowledge he has gained about the VA application system along with his medical background to help veterans apply for all of the benefits that are available to them.

“Enrollment in the VA Healthcare System grants veterans access to a comprehensive range of services, including primary care, mental health support, specialty care, and resources specifically tailored to address their unique needs,” said Shinaberry, who is in his second year in the PA program at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). “For a lot of them, it’s a struggle. They have mental health or physical disabilities. These VA benefits could be life changing.”

Finding His Motivation for Helping Other Veterans
Inspired to join the military by his grandfather, who was a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps and a prisoner of war for two years during World War II, Shinaberry enlisted in the Marine Corps at 17 years old, after graduating from high school. He spent four years in active duty as a radio and satellite operator. “I was part of several training operations, and I worked with high-ranking officers closely on how they would handle different war situations,” said Shinaberry, who also spent a year in the Reserves after his active duty. Shinaberry traveled often for this role, spending two years in Japan, three months in Australia, and a few weeks each in several countries located in the Indo-Pacific region, before transferring to a duty station in North Carolina for his last two years of service.

After leaving the military in 2020, Shinaberry started a work study position in health promotion and disease prevention at the VA in Tampa, Florida, where he met John. At the time, Shinaberry didn’t know about the benefits that could be available to him as a veteran. John first encouraged Shinaberry, who was unsure about his career path at the time, to look into medicine by taking an anatomy and physiology course, which would be paid for by the VA. After taking the class and finding he enjoyed medicine, Shinaberry learned from his counselors at the VA that he could qualify for Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31), a program that offers education and employments benefits for veterans with service-connected disabilities. Under this benefit, Shinaberry could get a free education in a PA program if he stayed on track to enter the profession.

Shinaberry became an EMT and now attends the PA program at The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). As a student, he volunteers with the MUSC C.A.R.E.S. Medical Clinic (Community Aid, Relief, Education, and Support), a student-run clinic that was founded in 2005 to provide care to underserved populations while also educating the next generation of medical professionals. Through this clinic, Shinaberry had a memorable experience administering vaccines to about 40 unhoused kids at a large event held in a park—complete with free food and a bounce house—that drew around 500 people. This gave him “the best feeling” as a medical provider, he said.

Still, when he thinks about his long-term career goals, Shinaberry remains committed to serving veterans. After he graduates in 2025, he hopes to work in primary care at the VA, where he also wants to create a program that explains the benefits available to veterans who are transitioning out of the services. “Veterans would come into the VA and before they do anything else, they would sit through a quick class that makes it easy to learn about these benefits,” he said. “In my opinion, this is something the VA should be doing.”

Health Benefits for Veterans and How PAs Can Help
The benefit that is most crucial for veterans is healthcare, Shinaberry said, adding that he has also gone through the process of accessing this benefit because of a diagnosis he obtained as a result of his military service.

When he started his PA program in 2023, Shinaberry had been experiencing stomach pain for months. He eventually learned he had a gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumor, a rare cancer that affects about six in every 100,000 people worldwide. The tumor secretes hormones and can cause carcinoid syndrome and many associated symptoms, including flushing, gastrointestinal upset, stomach pain, and wheezing. Exposure to asbestos is a risk factor for this type of tumor, and Shinaberry was exposed to asbestos at the barracks of one of his military assignments. With his health benefits from the VA, Shinaberry had the tumor removed, which has helped make his pain more manageable along with physical therapy, and he continues to be monitored by providers at a local cancer center.

Getting health coverage was critical for Shinaberry, and PAs can play a role in helping other eligible veterans like him access the same benefits. First, they can point their patients toward the VA Health Benefits Enrollment website and the VA Welcome Kit. With these resources, veterans can learn about available benefits, eligibility criteria, and how to navigate the VA system. PAs can also share with their patients who are veterans that they may be eligible for disability compensation for conditions they acquired as a result of their service.

“By educating veterans about these resources, providers can empower them to fully utilize the healthcare and support services they have earned,” said Shinaberry, who wants to recognize a few veterans who have helped him since he left the service, including John Bower, PA-C, U.S. Navy, and Robert “Bobby” Burke and John Ziegler of the U.S. Army.

For his fellow veterans, Shinaberry—who hopes to one day open his own clinic to provide free care to veterans—encourages them to take the time to apply for all the benefits for which they are eligible. “If you’re not taking advantage of the amazing benefits offered by the Veterans Affairs, you’re missing out on something truly special,” he said. “You’ve given your all, sacrificed so much, and deserve nothing more than the best. America is here to support you, so let’s make the most of it and take care of each other.”

Jennifer Walker is a freelance writer in Baltimore, MD. Contact Jennifer at [email protected].

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