New VA Outpatient Clinic: Answer to a Prayer

Happy Veteran's Day!

From Eddie Griffin

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

On yesterday, I attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new VA Outpatient Clinic in Southeast Fort Worth. It was a prayer answered and dream come true for all of us, for veterans in need of more expansive medical care, for doctors and nurses now working in an overcrowded facility, for the chamber of commerce and the African-American community, and for City Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks who championed the cause of economic development in Southeast Fort Worth, and for U.S. Congressman Michael C. Burgess, MD, who push the issue in Congress, for Commissioner Roy C. Brooks, State Representative Marc Veasey, and other political leaders who saw the need and answered the call for disabled veterans like myself.

From the Star-Telegram:

The ceremony along Interstate 20 drew dozens of veterans, doctors and nurses, city and state officials and Reps. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, Joe Barton, R-Arlington, and Chet Edwards, D-Waco, who is rumored to be a candidate for President-elect Barack Obama’s secretary of Veterans Affairs.

All three congressional leaders said improving healthcare for veterans is a top priority.

"We’re not going to just honor you with speeches on Veterans Day," Edwards said. "We’re going to honor you with budgets every day."

Veterans who live in Tarrant, Parker, Wise, Johnson, Hood and other counties have long bristled at the discrepancy between the outpatient-only facility in Fort Worth and the major hospital in Dallas. The clinic, opened in 1992, is 45,000 square feet and built for that number of annual patient visits.

This year, the clinic will record 165,000 visits and is so overcrowded that VA officials closed enrollment for new veterans in late 2006, forcing them to get care in Dallas.

Burgess, a physician, said he knows that kind of demand "wears on you. That hurts the ability of the physicians and nurses to deliver good care."

“We worked hard for the first facility through Jim Wright’s office,” said Antonio Morales of Fort Worth, the national commander of the American GI Forum. “That was a major milestone at that time. But now this new facility will mean veterans won’t have to sit around and wait all day for care.”

Hard Work Pays Off

The VA Outpatient Clinic was conceived in 2005. However, we became familiar with the plan during Congressman Burgess’ Economic Summit of 2007, when community activists like Pastor Kyev Tatum and myself, were able to see the plan in a bit more detail.

The congressman delivered, Black Chamber President Devoyd Jennings reminded me. Not only did he deliver, we were breaking ground in record time. And, we are told that Burgess is the leading medical authority in Congress.

Eddie Griffin Commentary

Unlike other vocal constituents, I have never asked the congressman for anything that would benefit me personally. But this is one that I needed. Being a disabled vet myself, I admit that, due to the long waits at the old VA facility, I have neglected my own personal health issues by routinely missing doctor’s appointments. Maybe now that might change.

Thanks to Burgess, Barton, Edwards, Veasey, Brooks, and Hicks for their leadership in office and their reelections. We wish them much success, because their success is our success.