NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- What used to be shocking now seems to be the norm.

"They'd be surprised that I was a woman when I walked into doctor's office," said Merilyn Evans. "I have never seen so many women veterans walking around the hospital as I do now."

In the mostly male-dominated military, Evans -- who served in the U.S. Navy -- has often felt overlooked.

"We were second class. We second rate in that we didn't get everything we needed right away," she said. "For a long time, any female-involved care that I needed, they would either ship me down to Murfreesboro or somewhere else because they didn't have anything up here in Nashville."

But they do have those resources now. Evans was recently seeing a female doctor at the Nashville Veterans Administration.

"When she retired, I was transferred to another doctor who didn't particularly wanted to care for women veterans," Evans said.

The VA recently opened a new clinic on Charlotte Avenue just a couple months ago. Evans plans to start going there for a variety of health care services geared specifically toward women.

A letter from the VA said female providers will provide an array of services which include gynecological services, assistance with midlife and menopause issues and treatment for military sexual trauma.

With more and more women in the military these days, Evans said she sees firsthand how hard the Nashville VA, especially, is working to bridge the gap in care.

Washington will be taking up this issue in about a week and a half. The U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs has a congressional hearing on Women Veterans and Bridging the Gaps in Care on July 14.