Loma Linda VA Ready for Influx of Returning Service Members

With the end of the Iraq War, Veterans Affairs hospitals across the country are preparing for the expected influx of veterans looking for medical and transitional services.

But come June, the Loma Linda VA plans to take its services to the next level by offering a one-stop Veterans Transition Center where nearly all services will be housed in the same area.

The 9,000 square-foot, two-story addition is being constructed at the main entrance of the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Medical Center, or Loma Linda VA, according to hospital officials.

A waterfall featuring flags and military seals honoring the military branches of service will be placed in the front, officials said.

“The lobby will be very nice,” Donald F. Moore, director of Loma Linda VA told a group of dignitaries during a Loma Linda Chamber event. “We’ll have a cyber café. We’ll have a grand piano.”

The hospital is currently seeing an average of 95 new returning combat veterans enrolling each month, a 25 percent increase from six years ago, said Annie Tuttle, Loma Linda VA spokeswoman.

Most of those new arrivals are from Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn, hospital officials said.

Loma Linda VA and the hospital system’s five community clinics (in Rancho Cucamonga, Corona, Murrieta, and Victorville and Palm Desert) had 9,690 returning veterans come in for services.

Of those, 1,009 have been women and 3,656 were seen for a combat injury, Tuttle said. Only 57 were admitted as most care can be delivered on an outpatient basis, she said.

First to be impacted will be the transition team, who helps those leaving the military return with some ease and acquaint them with VA benefits, officials said. 

However, the returning guard and reserve forces may seek care immediately, which could mean more than 500 veterans from the surrounding area coming in, Tuttle said.  

“These veterans have earned the access to VA health care,” Tuttle wrote in a email response. “As they return home, they are reconnecting with family, obtaining jobs or attending college. We want to encourage them to add health care enrollment to their list and this new one-stop center will make that process even easier.”

“The injuries from combat can be both physical and psychological. Care can be provided by specialists that understand and will keep information confidential,” said Tuttle

According to Department of Defense statistics, 16,959 active duty California residents and 3,287 guard and reserve members from California deployed as of Aug. 31.

Returning veterans have five years from their date of discharge for cost free health care. They also have a one-time dental care if they request care within 180 days after separation.