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JOINT VA / NAVY HOSPITAL IN CHICAGO GETS $99
MILLION
BUDGET NOD -- The consolidation and influx of
federal cash means not having to worry
that the VA will inevitably be closed.
Story here...
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.
com/newssun/news/248580,5_1_
WA08_GLAKES_S1.article
Story below:
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Joint Navy-VA hospital gets $99M budget nod
By JUDY MASTERSON
JMASTERSON@SCN1.COM
NORTH CHICAGO -- Milton McGrew loyally served his country in the Army
for three years after he was drafted in 1961. The 68-year-old veteran
and resident of Waukegan recalls sweating-out long days and nights on
high-alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis, expecting to defend his
country in the face of a nuclear attack.
"Oh yeah, we were scared," he said.
McGrew and thousands of other veterans and active duty military
personnel in Lake County who rely on the North Chicago Veterans Affairs
Medical Center for their health care -- "I have a great doctor," McGrew
said -- may be heartened to hear that the new federal budget calls for
$125 million for military construction at Great Lakes Navy Base,
including $99 million for completion of a new joint Veterans/Navy
hospital.
Integration of VA and Navy health facilities began in 2003, when U.S.
Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park, won approval for the idea that he said
will ensure the survival of veterans' health care in northern Illinois.
For McGrew and other veterans, the consolidation and influx of federal
cash means not having to worry that the VA will inevitably be closed.
"Over the years, Congress is always trying to close military
installations," McGrew said. "The VA was on the verge of being closed
not too long ago. It seems like the VA in North Chicago is always on
some list. But by combining with the Navy, I don't think it will be
threatened anymore."
Kirk's bid in 2003 to move the Navy's mental health unit into the VA
helped block Bush administration plans to close the veterans hospital in
1999 and 2000. Last fall, the congressman announced plans for the
construction of the nation's first joint VA/Navy hospital on the VA
campus at Green Bay and Buckley roads.
The new hospital, which will provide care for 55,000 Illinois veterans
and 40,000 naval personnel and their families, is scheduled for
completion by 2010. It includes a plan for doctors and nurses from both
the Navy and VA to work "seamlessly" under a "single management
component" for veterans, sailors and their families. The joint venture
will include pediatric care for Navy families -- never before offered in
a VA facility.
The VA Medical Center recently underwent $13 million in improvements,
completed last year, including the expansion of emergency and operating
rooms and waiting areas. Under the "new era of cooperation" between the
VA and Department of Defense, nursing stations were modernized and new
computer systems to track patient records were installed.
Kirk said the consolidation is creating a synergy leading to a higher
quality of care.
"Our plan upgrades health care for the families of men and women wearing
the uniform of the United States Navy to the state-of-the-art," Kirk
said. "Care at a VA Medical Center now is better than at many civilian
hospitals. One reason is because the VA has moved to totally electronic
medical records -- reducing medical errors by more than 80 percent. It's
the rare case where government is ahead of the private sector."
The federal government is also pumping money into the modernization of
Great Lakes, the nation's sole facility for recruit training.
Construction projects on the base include new barracks, drill halls and
training facilities.
"I am very pleased the Navy and VA will invest heavily in Great Lakes,
bringing hundreds of high-paying jobs to our communities," Kirk said.
"Building the world's premier naval facility benefits our men and women
in uniform and fosters economic growth and job creation in eastern Lake
County.
Kirk estimated that more than 200 new jobs in the medical field and
support personnel will be created with the construction of the new
hospital.
North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham said he met with Kirk last week to
underscore the need for more quality jobs for city residents.
"We realize that any improvements at Great Lakes and the VA spur job
growth," Rockingham said Wednesday, "but we want more than jobs that
leave once construction is completed. We'd like to see more minority
contractors involved as well."
Other increases in the president's budget include $12 million for the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to fight gang activity through a
national anti-gang initiative that includes targeting gang leaders in
the suburbs.
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Larry Scott --
