When Ally O’Neal left the U.S. Army following a service-related injury, she expected the transition into civilian healthcare to be manageable. Instead, it was a struggle. “The transition was actually quite difficult for me,” she recalled. “I had to go through both VA and private-sector care, and I knew what I wanted – and what I didn’t want – based on how it affected me personally. When you go through a bad experience, you don’t want other people to have to go through that as well.”
That conviction drives O’Neal today as the Director of Veterans Affairs at BAYADA Home Health Care, one of the country’s largest home-health and hospice providers. Founded in 1975 by Mark Baiada as RN Home Health Care and later renamed in his honor, BAYADA has grown from a single nurse-led practice into a global organization with more than 30,000 employees. In 2024, the company created the Veterans Affairs office to expand its outreach to former service members through its “Salute to Service” initiative – a program O’Neal helped design to bridge the gaps she once faced herself.
From Military Life to Ministry and Hospice
“I come from a family of military veterans and first responders,” she said. “Service has just been ingrained in my blood.” When she left the military, she initially didn’t know what to do next. Her calling came unexpectedly after her father’s experience with inadequate care near the end of his life. “I didn’t really know that I wanted to go into hospice until we had that experience with my dad,” she explained. “I went to school for pastoral ministry, then took a chaplain position in hospice. That’s how I got my start.”
That blend of ministry, personal experience, and military service shaped O’Neal’s belief that home-based care for veterans must go far beyond clinical treatment. “When I started shaping the program, I kept thinking, how can we truly advocate for veterans to get the best care and be collaborative? That became the framework for everything we did moving forward.”
Building a Culture of Understanding
Through the Salute to Service initiative, O’Neal and her team have built a structure that pairs clinical excellence with education and advocacy. One part of that mission is training BAYADA’s caregivers to understand military culture and the unique emotional needs that veterans carry. “Community-based care often isn’t educated on veteran culture,” she said. “When you walk into a VA hospital, they know that culture, and it shows in the care they give. In community care, if someone doesn’t have that education, mistakes can happen. They can miss really important factors about what a veteran needs.”
To close that knowledge gap, BAYADA requires its staff to complete courses on firearm safety, suicide prevention, and intervention, as well as a certification through PsychArmor, a nonprofit that trains professionals to work effectively with military populations. “That’s where you learn about moral injury, survivor’s guilt, PTSD, and so many other things,” O’Neal explained. “It’s not just about treating symptoms. It’s about understanding the person.”
Navigating Benefits and Breaking Barriers
BAYADA’s veteran programs also tackle a widespread problem: confusion about benefits. Many veterans and families don’t realize they can receive VA-funded home- and community-based care through organizations like BAYADA. “There’s such a lack of education around benefits navigation,” O’Neal said. “One thing we’ve been able to do really well is give families a solid foundation of what’s out there and guide them through the process.” The urgency is especially acute in hospice. “In hospice, our individuals are often given a six-month or less prognosis,” she noted. “Trying to get VA benefits in that short time is nearly impossible, so we think outside the box about what other programs we can connect them to, especially for mental-health support.”
Among the most pressing barriers O’Neal sees are staffing shortages, lack of continuity of care, and the mental-health stigma that still runs deep in military culture. “Continuity of care is heartbreaking,” she said. “A lot of veterans feel like they’re being pushed into group therapy before they’re ready or having their appointments canceled. That lack of consistency really hurts.” Building trust, she added, begins with listening: “For our non-veteran staff, it starts with hearing their story and responding in a compassionate way. That’s how you build rapport.”
Collaboration With the VA
BAYADA coordinates closely with VA medical centers when veterans receive joint care. O’Neal described how her teams meet directly with local VA officials after referrals to discuss each veteran’s clinical picture. “The VA is pushing more into community-based care, so collaboration is key,” she said. “We want to be an extension of the VA’s mission...when they trust us with their veterans, that’s a responsibility we take seriously.”
For those in rural or isolated areas, BAYADA’s broad clinical network helps bridge the gap. “We have clinicians all over the map,” O’Neal said. “Telehealth has restrictions in hospice, but we use it wherever possible. The harder part is mental health. Some rural veterans don’t want to go in person – or can’t. I always recommend Crisis Text Line; it’s not veteran-specific, but it’s anonymous, and it can take someone from a hot to a cool moment.”
Measuring Success and Empowering Families
BAYADA also tracks its impact through comprehensive assessments. “When our clinicians do their initial visit, they use a military-history checklist to understand what that veteran needs for personalized care,” she said. “It’s not one-size-fits-all. We pull that data into reports – how many veterans we’ve served, what their specific needs are, how long they stay under care – and we even break it down by experiences like PTSD or survivor’s guilt.”
To strengthen the organization’s perspective, O’Neal recently formed an internal Veterans Council that includes representatives from every branch of the military. “I only have one perspective, from the Army,” she said. “So, we have a voting system for program changes. If everyone doesn’t agree, we go back, rework it, and make it better.”
Family caregivers are a central focus as well. O’Neal described how BAYADA’s volunteer network assists not just veterans, but the people caring for them. “We had a vet-to-vet volunteer who went to help a caregiver who didn’t know how to cook and was overwhelmed. They went out, taught them, and gave them a break,” she said. “We make sure caregivers get connected to resources, too.”
Education, Policy, and the Future of Care
She also works to dispel misconceptions about veterans’ mental health among civilian providers. “Some veterans feel uncomfortable with non-veteran providers; they worry they won’t be understood,” she said. “There’s nothing like the camaraderie of talking to another veteran. And the mission-first mindset can delay help-seeking. It’s easy for veterans to say, ‘I’ve got this family commitment,’ or ‘I can’t focus on myself.’ We remind them that their mission can be taking care of their own mental health.”
When asked about policy changes that could improve care, O’Neal pointed to the need for stronger hospice education across healthcare. “There’s legislation known as the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA),” she said. “If clinicians had better hospice education and veteran-specific training on top of that, it would make a huge difference in how we care for veterans. Right now, those conversations often aren’t happening in hospitals or nursing facilities. We could change that through education.”
Honoring Every Generation
BAYADA also makes sure staff understand the generational differences between veterans. “We teach about different war eras,” O’Neal said. “Vietnam veterans, especially, weren’t welcomed home. We make sure their stories are heard and commemorated. We even send out Friday Veteran Facts companywide so everyone can learn about different eras and lesser-known military holidays.”
When asked what she most wants veterans and families to know, her answer was simple. “You have the right to choose your own healthcare,” she said. “Don’t think you have to choose between VA care or community care. You can have both."
"The VA does incredible work, and community partners like BAYADA can complement that by offering continuity and care right in your home.”
She added that she wishes more veterans knew about private-sector mental-health programs. “There are so many great organizations out there,” she said, naming Pennsylvania’s Battle Borne and its Battle Buddy Response Team as examples. “When veterans near the end of life, old wounds can resurface. It’s crucial that we wrap our arms around them and make sure they get comprehensive mental healthcare.”
For O’Neal, the mission remains deeply personal. “Service doesn’t end when you take off the uniform,” she said. “It just changes shape. Now, it’s about making sure every veteran, and every family, gets the care, dignity, and understanding they deserve.”
