An Important Update to Our Medical Information Requirements

One of our most important responsibilities at South Willamette Valley Honor Flight is helping protect the health and safety of the veterans and guardians who travel with us. We are continually looking for ways to improve our processes and provide our medical team with the information they need to safely care for those on our flights.

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Earlier this year, we introduced a new requirement intended to improve the medical information available to our team. Veterans and guardians were asked to obtain and submit a copy of their medical “problem list,” a one-page report intended to provide our medical team with important health information. Based on the information available to us at the time, the Board of Directors believed this would be a simple and effective way to strengthen our medical preparation, and approved it as a flight requirement.

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As our 2026 flight attendees began working with their physicians to obtain this information, however, we started hearing from veterans, guardians and medical offices about the difficulties this requirement was creating. The term “problem list” was not always understood in the same way by different medical practices. Some offices had concerns about providing certain protected medical information to an outside organization, while others were simply unable to provide the report in the format we had requested.

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We listened to those concerns, and we realized that what had seemed like a simple request on paper had become a source of confusion, frustration and additional stress for many of the people we are here to serve.

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Our intention was to make the Honor Flight experience safer and better for our veterans. We recognized that this requirement was instead creating an unnecessary burden for some of them. We needed to listen, and we needed to change course.

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Therefore, on Thursday, August 6, 2026, the South Willamette Valley Honor Flight Board of Directors voted to remove the medical “problem list” as a requirement for the 2026 Honor Flight.

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What you need to do now

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The “problem list” is no longer required.

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Veterans and guardians need only have their physician complete and sign the Medical Clearance for Air Travel form provided by South Willamette Valley Honor Flight and return it to us by the August 15 deadline.

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That form already provides a place for a physician to identify any medical conditions, limitations or other information they believe our team needs to know in order to safely support the veteran or guardian during the trip.

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If you have already spent time trying to obtain a problem list, please do not worry about obtaining one now. Our medical team will work from the Medical Clearance for Air Travel form.

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We recognize that changing this requirement during the preparation for our fall flight may cause additional confusion, and we sincerely apologize for that. Most importantly, we are sorry for the stress or frustration this requirement may have caused our veterans, guardians and their healthcare teams.

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Our commitment is to remain responsive to the people we serve. We will continue listening to feedback from our veterans, guardians and medical partners, and after the 2026 flight we will evaluate how we can obtain the medical information our team needs in a way that is clearer, easier and less burdensome for everyone involved.

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South Willamette Valley Honor Flight exists to honor our veterans and give them an experience they deserve. When one of our processes makes that experience more difficult, we believe it is our responsibility to listen, learn and make it better.

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Please continue to send your medical forms and any questions to medical@swvhonorflight.org.

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Thank you for your patience, your understanding and, most importantly, for allowing us to serve those who served our country.

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Steve Bartth

2026 Board Chair

South Willamette Valley Honor Flight