Local and national Veterans Affairs officials are hoping initiatives such as appointment scheduling systems and a new model walk-in clinic in Charleston, W. Va., will help the agency rebuild veterans’ trust.

Brian Nimmo, director of the local VA medical center in West Virginia, and Amanda Penn, regional office director for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, were joined by Fred Buchanan, chair of the Veterans Committee for Civic Improvement, for a recent update on what the hospital is doing to connect with the veterans the agency serves.

Among those updates was a description of the “12 breakthrough priorities” the VA has established as goals for this year.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is continuing to work toward improving patient care after the 2014 scandal which found thousands of veterans were not receiving care due to long wait times at VA hospitals, the three officials said.

The first is to improve veterans’ experience. In Charleston that includes the new walk-in clinic that opened at the beginning of the month, they said. Outpatient services at the new location include primary care, mental health, X-ray, telehealth including teleretinal services, laboratory and a dedicated women’s clinic.

Nimmo said VA officials want to use the model of the Charleston clinic and replicate it around the country. A telephone service and call center were established recently based on veteran feedback.

“Our telephone service is exponentially better than what it was just a year ago,” Nimmo said. “That’s pretty important to our veterans. The walk-in clinic as well, veterans can come in now if they have acute illnesses or minor injuries and within an hour be in or out. We are really proud of that.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs also is working on scheduling enhancements with a new all-in-one website soon to be unveiled called vets.gov. Nimmo said soon everything a veteran needs will be on one website, including the ability to check in for an appointment on their smartphones.

Another of the 12 goals is continuing to reduce veteran homelessness. The VA will have a Veterans Homeless Stand Down on Sept. 21 at the Homeless Veterans Community Resource and Referral Center in Huntington, which will bring together a network of community organizations to assist homeless veterans.

A veterans’ expo is also scheduled for October at the American Legion Post 16 in Huntington. The expo will be a one-stop shop for veterans, including health care, help with claims, readjustment counseling and unemployment help. (Source: The Herald Dispatch | Taylor Stuck | July 26, 2016)

By Thomas Crisp

Contributing Columnist

Thomas Crisp is a retired military officer from Whitmire. His veteran updates can be found weekly in The Newberry Observer.