FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has recommended closing the Fort Wayne VA Medical Center.
In a report to the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission released this week, the VA suggested closing the veterans hospital at 2121 Lake Avenue and establishing a new “Community Based Outpatient Clinic” as part of a effort to “modernize facilities” and “expand access for Veterans.”
The VA report recommended closing dozens of hospitals and clinics across the nation as the department works to overhaul its aging health care network.
The report said the VA’s Indiana Market faces slightly decreasing enrollment though demand for long-term care and outpatient care is projected to increase. Demand for inpatient medical and surgical services is projected to remain stable, the report said.
“There is a need to modernize facilities to meet current health care delivery standards and expand access for Veterans to receive care in a new and efficient environment,” the report said about Fort Wayne’s VA health care needs.
Representative Jim Banks says, “no matter what this looks like years down the road, there will always be a healthcare facility in Fort Wayne, it’s just a matter of whether or not veterans will receive inpatient care at the VA like they currently do or whether they receive that patient care at Parkview, IU Health or Lutheran or a VA hospital that’s further away.”
The proposal calls for:
- relocating all inpatient services from the VA to “community providers” and discontinuing those services at the Fort Wayne VA
- establishing a new Community Based Outpatient Clinic at the current VA site and relocating all outpatient services there
- closing the current VA medical center
Alexandria Sharpe, with the VA Northern Indiana Health Care System says that, “nothing is changing now for Veteran access to care or VANIHCS employees. Any potential changes to VANIHCS health care infrastructure will take several years and are dependent on Commission, Presidential, and Congressional decisions, as well as robust stakeholder engagement and planning.” Sharpe goes on to say that any potential changes could be 10 to 20 years away.
Fort Wayne’s VA hospital opened in 1949, and was last renovated in 1998. The report said the “age and layout of the facility are not conducive to modern health care delivery, and the VAMC has space and structural constraints.”
Banks says he has many questions that have not been answered yet, however he can ensure one thing. “One way or another our veterans are going to receive the beset healthcare in the United States of America and we are going to continue to fight for that,” he says.
The hospital understands that there may be Veterans, staff, and others who are concerned about what these recommendations mean or excitement with hopes to impact the decision-making process. Sharpe says there are multiple ways to do so:
- As part of their nearly year-long review process, the AIR Commission is mandated to conduct public hearings. Veterans, staff, and other members of the public are welcome to attend these hearings and have their personal voice heard.
- The Commission’s version of the recommendations will then go to the President, so if you like or dislike their version which they will release in late January 2023, you can notify the White House through letters or calls to the White House Hotline.
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