Resolution on county veterans clinic advances
TRENTON — A resolution Assemblyman Parker Space and Assemblywoman Gail Phoebus sponsored supporting the expansion of access to healthcare to veterans residing in Sussex County received General Assembly approval.
“Nearly 50,000 veterans reside in Sussex County and its neighboring counties, but because Sussex and Warren counties do not have a VA outpatient clinic, our veterans have to travel unreasonable distances to receive the healthcare they have earned,” said Space, R-Sussex, Warren and Morris. “Many men and women who served and sacrificed suffer from PTSD or have debilitating injuries and do not have the means to travel.
The bill, which supports the establishment of a federal Department of Veterans Affairs community-based clinic in Sussex County, was approved by the Assembly Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee in November.
“Sussex and Warren are the only two counties in New Jersey that don't have a veterans' outpatient clinic,” said Phoebus, R-Sussex, Warren and Morris. “The closest in-state clinic is in Morris Plains. Another in Port Jervis is closer to some parts of Sussex, but because it is in New York it is outside the state network and not all services cross state lines.”
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs New Jersey Health Care System (VANJHCS) provides veterans with access to medical care, with an emphasis on primary care, surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. Its two main campuses are in East Orange (the corporate office), and Lyons. Satellite outpatient clinics are located in Brick Township, Elizabeth, Hackensack, Hamilton, Jersey City, Morristown, Paterson, Piscataway and Tinton Falls.
The U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) administers nearly 1,400 outpatient clinics and other services for nearly 9 million veterans nationwide.
The Senate passed an identical resolution, sponsored by Sen. Steven Oroho, R-Sussex, Warren and Morris, in July. Former Assemblywoman Alison Littell-McHose is also a resolution sponsor.