Northeast Georgia veterans are throwing their support behind a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs proposal to build an outpatient clinic in Habersham County. Veterans say the clinic would make it easier for them to access essential health services in the region. It would trim drive times and could potentially cut down on wait times for appointments, allowing area veterans to more readily access the health services they earned from their military service.
Local veterans groups have organized a town hall meeting in Cornelia this week to discuss the proposed clinic. The meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 27 at the Grant-Reeves Veteran Center. All area veterans and their families are invited to attend.
“One of the main goals [of the town hall] is to spread awareness within the veteran community in an effort to affirm the need for a Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) and, hopefully, expedite the process from 8-10 years down to 2-3 years,” says Jim Morgan, commander of the local chapter of Disabled American Veterans. “In addition, we hope to show support justifying a mobile CBOC to be located in the county immediately.”
A growing need
The VA proposed building a clinic in Habersham in its recommendations to the Asset Infrastructure and Review (AIR) Commission in March. According to that report, the number of VA healthcare system enrollees in Habersham County is projected to increase by 15.3% in the decade ending in 2029.
In 2019, the report states, there were 4,541 VA patients living within a 30-minute drive of the proposed clinic site in Baldwin. Currently, the closest VA clinic to Habersham is a minimum 45-minute drive to Flowery Branch. The next closest clinics are in Blairsville, Athens, and Franklin, North Carolina.
A Habersham-based CBOC would expand access to primary care and outpatient mental health services for veterans in the region.
“Driving an hour to see a primary care doctor is taxing on many of our older veterans, as well as those with busy schedules,” says Morgan. “Having a CBOC built here would be a huge relief for the veterans in the area, saving all of us a great deal of travel time.”
Grant-Reeves Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7720 Commander Bill Miles agrees.
“This clinic will provide Habersham and surrounding counties convenient access to VA healthcare. All veterans who are enrolled in VA health care can utilize the facility,” he says.
Even with a growing need and widespread support, the path to securing a clinic in Habersham is far from certain.
Stalled in Senate
Congress created the AIR Commission in 2018 to oversee the modernization of the Veterans Health Administration. That effort is now stalled in the Senate. A bipartisan group of Senators opposed to the VA’s recommendations has refused to confirm AIR nominees. Without a commission, “the process as outlined by the VA MISSION Act will not move forward,” says Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT).
“Whatever Congress decides to do with the AIR Commission we will continue to fight for the funding and modernization needed to care for Veterans and VA will remain in all of our health care markets,” says Department of Veterans Affairs Press Secretary Terrence Hayes.
According to Hayes, any potential changes to VA’s health care infrastructure may be several years away. They are dependent on commission, presidential, and congressional decisions, “as well as robust stakeholder engagement and planning.”
It is that stakeholder engagement that Northeast Georgia veterans are seizing upon to convince the VA to follow through on its recommendation for Habersham.
In addition to the town hall meeting on August 27, veterans are circulating an online petition aimed at showing community support for the facility. They’re also encouraging veterans to contact their representatives to lobby support for the project.
Augusta, not Atlanta
Even with the delay at the federal level, Commander Miles remains hopeful.
“It is my understanding that we eventually will get the clinic,” he tells Now Habersham. “Our goal is first to get a mobile medical clinic in our community to establish the need. From that, we can push to get our clinic built or purchase an existing building and get a brick-and-mortar location.”
Miles says the VFW has been in touch with the state surgeon who is communicating with the VA at different levels. They’ve asked that any eventual CBOC in Habersham be placed under the Augusta care network, not Atlanta.
“The overwhelming majority of veterans we have talked with do not want the CBOC associated with the Atlanta system,” says Morgan. “Those veterans currently receiving care with Asheville and Augusta will not switch back to the Atlanta system, even if they were just a few minutes away from an Atlanta-based CBOC.”
Those interested in learning more about efforts to bring a VA clinic to Habersham are encouraged to attend Saturday’s town hall meeting. Again, that meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. on August 27 at the Grant-Reeves Veterans Center located at 174 Cornelia Crossing Shopping Center.
