Lowey Bill Would Name New City VA Clinic after Jerry Donnellan

NEW CITY, NY – Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY17/Rockland-Westchester) on Tuesday introduced legislation (H.R. 7108) to designate the Department of Veterans Affairs community clinic in New City as the “Jerry Donnellan VA Community Clinic.” Mr. Donnellan, a Vietnam veteran and long-time advocate for veterans in Rockland, passed away in March of this year at the age of 71.

The introduction of Lowey’s legislation came just days after the VA Hudson Valley Health Care System dedicated a bench in front of the New City clinic in honor of Mr. Donnellan.

“Jerry Donnellan was, without a doubt, one of Rockland County’s most ardent supporters of veterans and their families,” said Lowey. “His distinguished legacy lives on in the VA Community Clinic in New City that he helped to start, and one of the best ways to honor that legacy is to dedicate this facility in his name. It is my privilege to introduce this legislation, and I am committed to ensuring that the New City clinic permanently bears Mr. Donnellan’s name.”

In July 1968, Gerald T. “Jerry” Donnellan of Valley Cottage, New York, was drafted into the Army and served with the 196th Light Infantry in Vietnam, attaining the rank of Sergeant. While in Vietnam, Donnellan was ambushed and sustained a compound fracture in his right arm and lost his right leg below the knee.