Letter to Acting VA Secretary O'Rourke - A Nearby Clinic Makes All The Sense In The World For Many LI Vets In This Area Who Served America

Letter

Dear Acting VA Secretary O'Rourke,

We write to request that the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) work with the Town of North Hempstead and the Nassau County Veterans Services Agency to establish a Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) within the town in order to provide improved service and care to veterans in Northwestern Long Island. As you work towards this goal I also request that the VA immediately deploy a Mobile Vet Center to the Town of North Hempstead and work with the local veteran community and elected officials to determine the best location for the mobile unit until a CBOC can be established.

Long Island towns like North Hempstead have worked diligently within local government to provide services that address the demands of a community whose population is reaching or already of retirement age and older, the VA must also address these concerns to ensure our nations heroes receive the care they have earned. Currently, aging veterans living in North Hempstead must travel an hour east to the Northport VA Medical Center or roughly a half hour west to the nearest clinic in Valley Stream for in person care. It is my understanding that the location for new CBOCs are determined based off of a number of factors including population data, density of eligible veterans, and the distance from existing clinics and medical centers. Should it be necessary, we are prepared to use all of the resources of our offices to support this effort and establish a CBOC within North Hempstead through the appropriations process.

Again, we urge you to immediately begin the process of establishing a CBOC within the Town of North Hempstead, as the VA works to establish a CBOC we also request that the VA deploys a Mobile Vet Center to the town to begin immediately providing improved access for veterans within the town.

Sincerely,

Source