A growing coalition of advocates are coming together to protest the planned closure of the Northampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center
NORTHAMPTON, Mass., March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Registered nurses and healthcare professionals from across Western Massachusetts, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, will rally outside the Northampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Monday, March 28 as part of a growing coalition of healthcare, veterans, labor and community groups and individuals opposed to the planned closure of the VA.
Rally to Save Northampton VA
When: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, March 28
Where: Outside the VA at 421 N Main St., Leeds, MA
Rally Participant Individuals/Organizations: Statement from Congressman Jim McGovern, Senator John Velis, the Chair for the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, and a Major in the Army Reserves (speaker), Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (speaker), Northampton City Councilor Rachel Maiore, David Felty President/CEO of Homeward Vets & Commander of the VFW Post 8006 in Florence (speaker), Patrick Burke, WMALF Hampshire Franklin Labor Assembly (speaker), Statement from RN Patty Healey, Statement from Senator Jo Comerford, Colton Andrews, President, LIUNA local 596 & Pioneer Valley Building Trades (speaker)
Coalition Members: Western Mass Area Labor Federation, Jobs with Justice, Western Massachusetts Medicare for All
There has been widespread outrage among veterans, community and labor groups, and elected officials following the announcement March 14 by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that it plans to close the Northampton VA Medical Center. The rally will encourage federal officials to save the VA. Nearly 100 years old, the Northampton VA provides a wide range of health and support services for veterans throughout the region.
“I was outraged to learn of the recommended closure of the VA Medical Center in Leeds,” said State Senator Jo Comerford, D-Hampshire, Franklin, and Worcester. “The Leeds VA is a critical healthcare provider for veterans in the western Massachusetts region. We’re at the beginning of this process and my constituents can count on me to reject a blatant disregard for their healthcare needs. I join my federal and state colleagues in holding strong against this closure.”
“The Northampton VA has been providing veteran centered healthcare for all veterans in the Pioneer Valley for decades,” said Patty Healey RN. “Right now, local veterans can access the specialized care they need in Northampton without having to travel great distances or seek out more expensive inefficient private healthcare. For the well-being of our veterans, their families and caregivers, the federal government must keep our Northampton VA open.”
The Veteran Administration’s recommendation to close the Northampton VA and other sites around the country came out of the MISSION Act, which allows for the privatization of the VA healthcare system. MNA nurses and other labor groups have long called out the dangers of privatization, focusing on how wealthy political and economic interests have pushed for privatization against the interests of veterans and taxpayers.
“Closing VA facilities will force veterans to rely on uncoordinated, private, for-profit care, where they will suffer from long wait times and be without the unique expertise and integrated services that only the VA provides,” the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal employee union, said in a statement earlier this month. “Every time the VA has tried to privatize veterans’ care, the private sector has charged veterans more money out of pocket for worse outcomes.”
As National Nurses United has pointed out in its opposition to the VA recommendations, ProPublica and other news outlets have reported extensively on the troubling ways profit-driven…
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