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VETS WELCOME PLAN FOR "VETERANS VILLAGE"

AT MONTROSE VA -- "Anything they can do

for the veterans, I'm all for it."

Montrose VA

For more about the Montrose VA, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=montrose&op=and

Story here... http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.d
ll/article?AID=/20071030/NEWS01/710300371/1018/RSS0101

Story below: 

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Veterans welcome plan for veterans village at Montrose VA

By SUSAN ELAN
THE JOURNAL NEWS

Veterans enthusiastically welcomed a plan outlined last night for construction of a veterans village complete with housing, shopping, medical care and training at the Montrose Veterans Affairs hospital.

But many of the 230 veterans and family members who attended a Town Hall meeting hosted by Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano at the County Center in White Plains said they hoped the plan would become a reality during their lifetimes.

"Anything they can do for the veterans, I'm all for it," said Hilton Spokony of Yonkers, who served with the Army's 69th Infantry Division from 1943 to 1946. "If you were in Europe getting shot at, you would want to be taken care of."

The veterans village plan - developed by the Montrose Elders veterans group, Westchester County, the town of Cortlandt and the state - would provide a broad range of services for veterans of all wars from World War II to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Affordable housing for young veterans and their families, a continuing-care retirement community, senior housing, continued operation of the state-run nursing home, temporary housing for families of veterans receiving medical services, and townhouses for veterans and their families are included in the plan.

Under the proposal, Cortlandt would take charge of maintenance and operation of the veterans village roadway system and sewer treatment plant, and the town would rehabilitate and operate the existing swimming pool, gym and theater.

Westchester County would increase the network of pathways and open spaces on the campus and improve access to the Hudson River from the VA hospital property.

The plan also calls for some shops and services and a village green in the residential area. All new buildings would use environmentally friendly technology and maximum energy efficiency. But Spano said the plan calls for preservation of the 50 buildings constructed between 1947 and 1950 and construction of new ones that blend well with them.

"We want a consistent look and character, not a hodgepodge," Spano said.

Private sector, state and local government money would pay for the veterans village development.

"We're not asking for money, just approval," Spano said.

VA officials will choose to whom to lease unused and vacant land on the Montrose campus.

The primary goal of the plan is to provide medical and other needed services to veterans at Montrose, said Ronald Tocci, commissioner for veterans affairs for the state Department of Labor.

The VA announced earlier this month plans to transfer 105 nursing-home beds and 70 psychiatric beds from the Montrose Veterans Affairs hospital to Castle Point in Fishkill. Under the VA plan, Montrose keeps 21 beds for treating veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, 42 beds for substance-abuse treatment and 53 beds for homeless veterans with psychological and social disorders. A multispecialty outpatient center would be built at Montrose, and the Castle Point campus would be modernized.

Many last night questioned the VA's estimates of the needs of current veterans in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties and those veterans in the making.

"There are a lot of young service members coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan who are going to need all sorts of medical care and help," said Robert McGuirl of Pelham, past commander of the American Legion in Westchester and an Army veteran who served from 1968 to 1971.

Dan Griffin, executive director of Vietnam Veterans of America for Westchester County, said the inclusion in the veterans village plan of a medical facility for training doctors and nurses is much needed.

"The biggest problem veterans have been facing for years is the huge shortage of quality doctors," Griffin said.

Eloisa Lagman, sister of Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Lagman of Yonkers, who died in Afghanistan, said she had come to learn about possible assistance for her ailing parents. Looking around the room at the large number of World War II and Korean War veterans, Lagman said, "By the time this is approved, many may not be around to use or enjoy it. They served their country. Why aren't we taking care of our own?"

Reach Susan Elan at selan@lohud.com  or 914-666-6205.

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Larry Scott  --

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