PATTERSON – The federal government is considering closing an outpatient veterans’ health clinic in Patterson, which serves 1,385 former members of the military in 2019.
Veterans using the Patterson Clinic will be directed to a larger facility in Hackensack, according to preliminary recommendations for a national restructuring of veterans’ health services.
The changes are designed to adapt to expected changes in the size and location of the country’s veteran population, officials said.
Patterson’s Outpatient Clinic is one of 11 operated in New Jersey by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, in addition to two larger veterans’ medical facilities in East Orange and Lyon. According to VA’s preliminary recommendations, the federal agency will open a new outpatient clinic on the Toms River in an area where officials say the veteran population is growing.
But the plan is already facing opposition from select officials in Pasayk County, including a letter sent by Representative Bill Pascrell Jr. to Veterans Secretary Dennis McDonau on Thursday. Pacrel said in the letter that he was successfully fighting for the opening of the Patterson Clinic in 2004 because the programs for outpatient veterans in Hackensack and East Orange were heavily overcrowded.
“I urge you to withdraw this ill-recommended and reckless decision, which will harm our veterans,” the congressman said.
Pascrell also said the study, on which the VA bases its recommendations, has been criticized by the federal government’s reporting service for discrepancies and incomplete data.
“This decision, which directly harms veterans in our county and North Jersey, is built on the wrong foundation,” the congressman wrote. “The VA cannot rely on erroneous data to make important decisions to shut down facilities that will affect thousands of Americans who rely on VA resources for the rest of their lives.”
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Pasayk County Council of Commissioners and Patterson City Council also plan to adopt resolutions against the suspension.
Final decisions to restructure veterans’ health facilities will not be made by the president until 2023, said VA communications officer Christine Betros Farrell. Meanwhile, an independent commission called the Assets and Infrastructure Review Commission will evaluate the VA’s recommendations in a March report and decide which ones should be submitted to the president for approval, Betros Farrell said.
“Veterans will always be at the center of what we do,” the spokesman said. “The AIR Commission is an opportunity to redesign VA health care to maximize access and outcomes for current and future generations of veterans.
“It is important to note that any recommendations to the forthcoming AIR Commission are just that – recommendations,” added Betros Farrell. “Now nothing changes for veterans’ access to care or VA staff.”
The VA’s March report on the restructuring report did not say whether the proposed changes would reduce or increase veterans’ healthcare costs. The VA report says the Patterson Clinic served 1,385 “unique” patients in 2019, a 17.4% reduction in the workload compared to 2015. The graphs included in the report show that six from VA outpatient clinics had a higher number of cases than Patterson on Getty Avenue. This group included the Hackensack facility, as well as others located in Brick, Hamilton, Piscataway, Morristown and Tinton Falls.
Joe Malinconico is the editor of Paterson Press. Email: [email protected]