[July 11, 2014]

Legion Town Hall Meeting Slated for Monday; Veterans Crisis Center in Fort Collins to Open Tuesday

The American Legion:

Who:

Members of The American Legion's System Worth Saving (SWS) Task Force, created in 2003 to conduct annual evaluations of health-care quality at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and other facilities.

What:

1. A town hall meeting for local veterans and concerned members of the community to discuss the quality of health care they are receiving from the Ft. Collins VA Medical Center. It will be moderated by Ralph Bozella, Chairman of The American Legion's Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission.
2. A Veterans Crisis Command Center, where the SWS team and community providers will help those affected by long wait-times for appointments at the Fort Collins facilty. Volunteers will be on hand to provide services to veterans and family members, including assistance in filing for VA benefits claims, counseling on legal issues, and help with enrollment in VA health care.

Both the town hall meeting and Veterans Command Crisis Center will be located at American Legion Post 4 at 2124 Country Road 54 G in Fort Collins.

When:

The town hall meeting, open to the public, is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, July 14.

The American Legion will operate its Veterans Crisis Command Center from Tuesday, July 15, to Thursday, July 17 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Friday, July 18 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Why:

VA recently released a nationwide access audit of wait-times at more than 700 of its medical facilities. The audit showed that many of the veterans treated at the Fort Collins CBOC had to wait several months for their appointments, and that clerks there were instructed how to falsify appointment records so it appeared the clinic was meeting VA's goal of scheduling veterans for medical appointments within 14 days. The American Legion is sending a team to help these individuals who have waited so long to gain access to their VA health care. Last month, The American Legion, with help from the VA and other organizations, operated week-long crisis centers for veterans and family members in Phoenix, Fayetteville, N.C., and El Paso, Texas. Another crisis center will be operating next week in St. Louis.

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