FORT BENNING, Ga., (July 8, 2015) -- More than 150 veterans from all branches of service filled an auditorium July 2 at the National Infantry Museum for a Veterans Affairs town hall that discussed improvements in health care, wait times for appointments and clinic locations.
Sanford D. Bishop Jr., the U.S. representative for Georgia's second congressional district and the Honorable Robert A. McDonald, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, presided over the meeting.
McDonald talked about a new health care option, the VA choice card.
"The choice card is a terrific program, which basically says that if you're a vet and have to wait more than 30 days for a visit or live more than 40 miles from a center, we will pay for you to go into the community and see a local doctor," McDonald said. "So based on your access to care, if we can't provide it, we get it for you."
The July 6 opening of the joint clinic on post at Fort Benning dominated much of the discussion.
Robin Jackson, acting director of the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System, said 18 services offered at the clinic on 13th Avenue will be moved to Fort Benning.
The new 19,000 square-foot clinic will have more space to provide more services to more veterans, Jackson said.
Many of the veterans present raised concerns about the new clinic; the increased distance might cause problems for some vets, the high number of enrolled veterans and low number of available doctors and whether women would be included in the special needs section of the clinic.
"The distance from the current facility to Fort Benning has absolutely been taken into account," Jackson said.
"We have established a shuttle system that will be running from the current facility to Fort Benning in both directions, and they will all be wheelchair accessible."
Jackson said that the shuttle systems aim was to ensure that all veterans had access to Fort Benning, and that distance did not become a factor in whether they could receive care or not.
Jackson said more than 200 positions within the organization had been filled.
He said his team was working tirelessly in hiring so the organization could reach full capacity and fill the needs of the veterans.
"We know we need to build capacity quickly, and that's what we are doing," Jackson said.
McDonald addressed the importance of providing adequate care for women, and stressed that the new clinic would do just that.
"We have worked with schools of medicine to create women's clinics around the country and the new building here will include a specialized women's clinic," McDonald said.
The meeting ended with Bishop and McDonald reiterating their dedication to progress and inviting veterans who had case-specific questions to meet with representatives in the hallway.
"We are making progress, but we are not where we need to be," McDonald said. "But stick with us; we will get there."
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