Kim, Smith Seek Answers On New VA Clinic Timing

BRICK, NJ — Where will the new Veterans Affairs clinic be placed in Ocean County? And when will the announcement be made?

Those are the primary questions being asked by veterans in Ocean, Monmouth and Burlington counties as well as by U.S. Reps. Andy Kim and Chris Smith as 2019 winds to a close with still no information on where the new clinic will be that will replace the James J. Howard Outpatient Clinic, which opened in 1991.

The Nov. 8 letter signed by Kim, who represents the Third District, and Smith, from the Fourth District, along with U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, is pushing for answers by early December.

The delegation cites "numerous barriers to care" for local veterans, including, "unacceptably long wait times, too few providers, even fewer options for transportation, difficulty finding parking nearby and a lack of automatic doors at each entrance – preventing wheelchair bound or disabled veterans from opening the door to the physical therapy clinic without assistance."

"As you know, the New Jersey Veterans Health Care System is responsible for providing vital care to the nearly 355,000 veterans who reside in New Jersey. Ocean County has the largest veteran population of the 21 counties in the state and one of the oldest veteran populations per capita in the entire country. This puts a large demand on the Brick (clinic)," the letter notes.

The facility, designed for 5,000 patients, now serves more than 10,000 active patients, and there are nearly 90,000 veterans living in Ocean, Monmouth and Burlington, the letter says.

It calls for a "more stringent" timeline than the "first or second quarter of FY2020" — which is now through March 31 — on announcing the new location.

The new VA health center has been in the works since the federal Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 was approved by Congress. The act included funding to address critical VA health care needs across the country. Those needs included larger, state-of-the-art facilities to provide a range of services for veterans, from mental health services to specialty clinics for dentistry, women's health, physical therapy, spinal cord injuries and more.

The new facility will replace the Howard clinic off Route 88 and Jack Martin Boulevard in Brick, which serves 400 scheduled appointments a day plus walk-ins for veterans seeking treatment.

Parking at the clinic is beyond inadequate now; veterans seeking treatment often have to circle the parking lot hoping for a spot to open. Cars park along the driveway of the clinic, and those who are able to make the walk end up parking a quarter-mile down the road at Ocean Medical Center.

The VA's specifications for the new clinic include parking for at least 400 vehicles and a building that is a minimum of 60,000 square feet. The Howard clinic is just over 34,000 square feet, by comparison. In 2015, the VA opened an annex to the Brick clinic on Route 88, about a mile away, to accommodate more patients, but the needs far outstrip the available services.

Officials in Brick and Toms River have been vying to host the new clinic. A property in Brick bordered by Route 88, Jack Martin Boulevard and Burrsville Road has been pushed hard by Brick officials. In Toms River, officials have rezoned a piece of property on Caudina Avenue for the purpose, which is right near the Ocean County senior services offices.

In February, Kim said he was told the announcement would not be made until 2020, however word came down in August that an announcement might be made by Sept. 30.

As that date neared and passed, VA officials said reports that a decision had been made were incorrect. "The VA is still evaluating bids and has not awarded a lease," officials said in an emailed statement.

"The congressman is eagerly awaiting the VA's decision and announcement, and remains committed to having a new facility built that can better serve our veterans as soon as possible," Anthony DeAngelo, Kim's spokesman, said in October.

That eagerness has turned to some impatience.

The letter to Dr. Joan McInerney, network director for the Veterans Affairs department, reiterates the critical need for increased service capacity in Ocean, Monmouth and Burlington counties. It also seeks answers questions including:

• A current timeline for the new clinic
• The number of providers needed for full staffing and whether the current Brick clinic is considered fully staffed, and providers for female veterans
• What's being done to keep providers from leaving the VA clinic jobs
• What's being considered or being done to alleviate the parking issues, which are a severe impediment to care for many of the Brick clinic's patients. They suggested the VA consider pilot transportation programs that are underway in South Carolina, Indiana and Oklahoma to improve service for veterans.

The four wanted answers by Dec. 8, "to deliver on the promise of better, more timely service for our veterans and ensure our veteran community is properly honored through the delivery of VA excellence."

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