def #136 07/10/09

COUNTY SUPPORTS VA HOSPITAL IN SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY

TOMS RIVER – Ocean County Freeholders are urging the Veterans Administration not to abandon a proposal that could result in a veterans’ hospital to better serve southern New Jersey.

In a letter sent today to Retired U.S. Army General Eric K. Shinseki, secretary for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Ocean County Freeholder Gerry P. Little urged the VA to take a closer look at whether Kessler Memorial Hospital in Hammonton could be used for a veterans’ hospital.

“There is a growing need for medical services to veterans living in Ocean County,” said Little, who serves as liaison to the Ocean County Veterans Services Bureau. “Currently our veterans have to travel to Philadelphia, East Orange and Newark to access Veterans Administration hospitals.

“The Kessler site is far closer than these other facilities and would provide a needed and desirable option to our veterans,” Little stated in the letter.

Ocean County is joining with representatives from the state’s 9th and 1st and 2nd Legislative Districts in calling upon the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a new statistical analysis of the veterans’ needs in southern New Jersey.

“It’s important all the data is looked at before a final decision is made on something so important,” Little said.

He added that more than 68,000 veterans live in Ocean County and that number should play a significant part in a decision on whether a VA hospital is located in southern New Jersey.

He noted that many of these veterans served during World War II and as they age their need for medical care increases.

Little added a VA hospital serving southern New Jersey would also help the caregivers and family members who provide the transportation to and from the hospitals located more than an hour outside of the area.

“Our veterans deserve nothing but the best for all the sacrifices they have made,” Little said. “The Veterans Administration should take a closer look at the viability of this recommendation and provide veterans in the southern part of the state with easier and more convenient access to the medical care provided by the VA.”