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VA OPENS NEW REGIONAL CLAIMS OFFICE IN MONTANA
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Is the VA's first energy efficient and
environmentally
certified building.
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VA opens new regional claims office
By MARTIN J. KIDSTON IR Staff Writer
FORT HARRISON — The Department of Veterans
Affairs opened a new $4.5 million regional claims office here Tuesday,
touting the facility as the VA’s first energy efficient and
environmentally certified building.
The facility, an appealing one-story structure, will process health-care
claims for Montana veterans, including those returning from duty in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Lt. Gov. Jon Bohlinger, along with
representatives from Montana’s congressional delegation, gathered for
the ribbon-cutting ceremony, officially opening the 22,000 square-foot
building, which sits east of the larger VA Hospital.
Mike Walcoff, the associate deputy undersecretary for benefits with the
Department of Veterans Affairs, said the new office currently employs 48
people. In the future, the office could grow to serve as a resource
center for other states.
Montana is home to 107,000 veterans, the most per capita of any other
state in the union. The Department of Veterans Affairs operates 57
regional offices scattered around the country.
“The vast majority of veterans are receiving quality care and the type
of services they deserve,” Walcoff said. “It’s not to say that we’re
perfect. We have to continue to strive to make it better.”
Walcoff said it was difficult to read about the issues plaguing the
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in major newspapers, and to hear it
discussed on national television.
Despite the setbacks at the Army hospital, he said, the VA healthcare
system remains one of the best providers in the country.
“This is a job where, everyday that you come to work, you can make a
difference in people’s lives,” he said. “You have the responsibility of
seeing to it that veterans get the care and attention they deserve.”
Maj. Gen. Randy Mosley, adjutant general of the Montana National Guard,
said the relationship between the VA and the Guard remains strong. The
Montana VA has made the processing of claims for veterans of Iraq and
Afghanistan its top priority.
Mosley also addressed the Guard’s effort to expand care to veterans who
not only suffer physical wounds from the war, but also suffer
post-combat stress.
“I spend a lot of my time reviewing statistics,” Mosley said. “The
statistics show only those who have been physically wounded. They don’t
show the statistics for those who have come back with behavioral
problems or mental wounds.”
Nearly 80 percent of the Montana National Guard has deployed since 2001.
Missions have included operations in Iraq and Afghanistan,
post-hurricane relief in New Orleans, and border patrol in New Mexico.
While the Montana Guard is experienced in preparing and ultimately
sending soldiers off for duty, Mosley said, it now needs to address its
post-deployment care.
To do so, the Guard has established a new task force, which meets today
for the first time. The group will provide Mosley with an assessment on
what needs to be done, and how to do it.
“I look forward to seeing that assessment,” Mosley said during the
ceremony.
The new VA facility provides compensation, pension, and rehab benefits,
among others. It includes interview rooms, offices for various
divisions, a conference center, and a room for veteran’s service
organizations.
The cubicles are comfortable and plush, and the filing system is
expansive. Claims filed by veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have been
made a priority.
Dean Bjerke, president of Diamond Construction, which won the contract
for the project, promoted the facility as state of the art. It’s the
VA’s first building certified as a Leader in Energy and Environmental
Design.
“It pushed the envelope for us,” said Bjerke. “But we have a very
special group of people we have to serve here. It was an honor to
provide some small contribution to that community.”
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Larry Scott --
