More choices involving less travel for south central Indiana veterans seeking health care services will be discussed at a town hall meeting.
The public meeting will be at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, in the first floor Cal Brand meeting room at Columbus City Hall, 123 Washington St., said Veteran Health Indiana spokesman Stephen Donovan.
The program is meant to provide information about options that place veterans in the center of their health care, providing services closer to home and also adding needed services, according to Veterans Health Indiana.
Until three years ago, most local veterans traveled to the Richard A. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis to receive serious or specialized medical care.
Then, in early 2016, the Wakeman VA Clinic opened at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh, providing a blend of basic medical and mental health services. The clinic is a joint venture of the Indiana National Guard and the Veterans Administration.
But even during the opening three years ago, officials of the Veterans Administration were promising the 12,000-square-foot clinic would eventually expand services.
Since then, the clinic has begun offering optometry, audiology and other specialty services in two adjacent buildings on Atterbury’s 10th Street, Donovan said. About 3,800 Hoosiers are now using the Wakeman facility, saving several veterans the drive to Indianapolis, Donovan said.
However, Bartholomew County Veterans Services still transports between five to seven people to the Roudebush Center almost every weekday, Bartholomew County Veterans Services Officer Larry Garrity said. Many are older veterans who have established strong relationships with Roudebush personnel, Garrity said.
Part of what will be discussed during the May 9 meeting will be facets of the Mission Act, Donavan said. Signed into law by President Donald Trump in June, 2018, the Mission Act is intended to improve the VA’s ability to deliver health care by:
Consolidating community care programs into a single program that is much easier to navigate.
Expanding eligibility for a program that assists family caregivers.
Strengthening the administration’s ability to recruit and retain the best medical providers.
Strengthening infrastructure.
“We also want to show off all the technology we have for veterans to receive health care that doesn’t involve them coming into a VA facility,” Donovan said.
That will likely include substantial improvements in Telehealth, a collection of means or methods for enhancing public health using telecommunications technologies. It encompasses a broad variety of technologies and tactics to deliver virtual medical, health, and education services, according to Veterans Health Indiana.
There may also a discussion about a new form of a choice program at the meeting that allows veterans to procure certain health care services from local specialists, Garrity said.
However, it’s important that veterans understand that if they participate in the choice program, they lose their right to ask the Veteran’s Administration to rectify problems or complications caused by non-VA medical personnel, Garrity said.
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What: Veteran Health Indiana Town Hall on health care options for veterans
When: 6 p.m. May 9
Where: Columbus City Hall, 123 Washington St., Cal Brand meeting room
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To learn more about Veteran Health Indiana, visit indianapolis.va.gov.
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