TMCnet News
EDITORIAL: VA clinic is a 'thank-you' to veteransSep 22, 2010 (Messenger-Inquirer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Two years ago, this community celebrated the opening of the new Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outreach Clinic on New Hartford Road. It was a celebration of 20 years of effort from so many who worked to bring an outpatient clinic for veterans to this community. On Monday, this community was celebrating another number -- 270. That's the number of veterans served by the clinic over the past two years who had never been seen by VA doctors before. Another number that gives reason to cheer the clinic's work over the past two years? 2,387. That's how many veterans the local clinic has served since it opened. Or another -- 615,000 -- that's the tally of highway miles that would have been chalked up by veterans driving back and forth to the nearest clinic in Evansville had the Owensboro clinic not opened. Those numbers reinforce the continued need for what was already known as a critical asset for this community. That need was seen back in 1997, when a Veterans Affairs official told the community she was "cautiously hopefully" that Owensboro would land a clinic. The need was even more apparent in 2005 when a group of local veterans launched a petition drive to try to bring a clinic to Owensboro sooner. "Our older veterans, our World War II and Korean veterans, need the services now," Terry Stinson, chairman of the Owensboro/Daviess County Veteran Affairs Committee, said then. "They cannot wait that long. We buried 217 veterans in this county last year." And it was that need and the hard work of local veterans along with U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis that brought this clinic to the point two years ago that its doors opened. That need is still here, and Monday's celebration was a recognition of the commitment to serve these veterans who have served our country. Even after being open for two years and serving thousands, the clinic is an untapped resource for many. Paul Bockelman, who oversees the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Marion, Ill., believes there are a lot more veterans out there who are unaware of what the Owensboro clinic has to offer. Certainly those veterans who can now find needed medical care from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs so close to home have a thanks to say. Providing that level of service and easy access to care is the least this community and the federal government can do to say thank you back to our veterans. To see more of the Messenger-Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.messenger-inquirer.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). |