Rep. Andy Kim in the Asbury Park Press: The VA has failed our veterans

On Friday, Rep. Andy Kim published an op-ed in the Asbury Park Press with State Commander Barbara Kim-Hagemann calling on VA leaders to take immediate action to reform the Ocean County CBOC. Caring for New Jersey’s veterans is Andy’s top priority, and he will continue to push the VA to deliver the services our nation owes to those who served and sacrificed in uniform.

Read the Op-Ed Below:

The US Department of Veterans Affairs has failed the veterans of Ocean County, but it didn’t have to be this way. If the VA had kept its promise to deliver for our veterans, there would be a new veterans health care facility befitting of the service and sacrifice of those who wore the uniform. Instead, we have seen delays and disappointment, excuses and a continuation of a status quo that is simply unacceptable.

The current James J. Howard Veterans’ Outpatient Clinic based in Brick was built in 1991. It was built to serve a veteran population of nearly 5,000. In the years since, the veteran population reliant on that facility for health care has more than doubled. Thousands more line up to see health care providers, but the number of providers hasn’t kept pace, especially for the care it provides to our women veterans. Thousands more drive to the facility looking for parking, but the VA has failed to expand parking capacity, forcing disabled and older veterans to walk an unsafe road to seek treatment. And thousands more seek expanded care that the current, dated facility, simply cannot provide.

In 2014, Congress authorized a lease project in Ocean County for a new CBOC as part of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act. This provided the authorization and funding to allow the VA to build a larger, more modern facility for our veterans. After promises of progress, that process was halted in the spring of 2018, when the VA decided to hit the restart button, delaying the expanded care our veterans need.

At the time, the VA said that restarting the process would result in “increase[d] competition and lower costs” and would be done “in line with VA’s new business practices” to “ensure alignment with the current VA healthcare model.” At face value, these things make sense. We were told in January 2019 that a decision on the location of the new facility would be made by the end of September of that same year. That date came and went until finally last month, we were told the VA was going back to square one; New Jersey’s veterans shouldn’t expect a new facility until at least 2024. That’s a decade after this process was started.

This decision blindsided us. Congressman Kim had toured the VA twice, met regularly with VA officials and his office was in monthly touch with the VA for updates. After this decision was made, congressional and veteran leaders across New Jersey pressed the VA to provide immediate answers and action; instead, we received insufficient excuses that did nothing to further the cause of providing better care for our veterans.

At the end of the day, as elected officials and veteran leaders, providing better care for our veterans is our top priority. It should be the top priority for officials at the VA as well, and they have a moment to make this right.

To serve the nearly 12,000 veteran patients who rely on the CBOC, the VA should fully staff the current CBOC, and establish a mobile “Touch Point” clinic to meet veterans closer to home. They could be active partners in finding new solutions to the dangerous parking situation at the facility in Brick, working with local organizations and private-sector groups who are eager to help. And they can provide real transparency to veterans in our community by meeting with veteran leaders in a public setting on a regular basis to provide updates on the procurement of a new site and other efforts to help our veterans.

All of these things would be a step forward, and all of them are within the power of the VA to do immediately.

We want the VA to succeed, simply because our veterans cannot afford them to fail. Success for our veterans is within reach; we only ask the VA to join us to make it a reality.

Congressman Andy Kim (NJ 3rd District), Barbara Kim-Hagemann, state commander, VFW Department of New Jersey

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