QUEENS COUNTY AGENDA
After careful review of the CARES (Consolidation And REalignment Study) and the VISN (Veterans Integrated Service Network) Reports on the future of the Saint Albans Campus and an onsite visit to the Brooklyn and Bronx VA Centers, we feel that, over the years, the Saint Albans Campus has failed to offer comprehensive services to the over 300,000 veterans in western Nassau and Queens County that should get their VA care at Saint Albans instead of traveling to Brooklyn or Manhattan.
They have closed wings, cut treatment options, and permitted some areas to deteriorate to a state that they are now closed to patients (Pratt Auditorium). The current plan to lease half the land for a development is opposed by the local community. Once the land is built upon, it can never be recovered!
More than 250,000 women have served in our current conflicts. A recent report has highlighted the lack of care and respect they have received in the male dominated environment at the VA.
We envision the following at the Saint Albans Campus:
· A state-of-the-art Primary Care Hospital Facility that meets the needs of our veterans,
· An expanded nursing Home Facility to care for our aging veterans,
· An expansion of the drug treatment and domiciliary,
·The inclusion of the advanced research and treatment facilities for TBI, PTSD, and Gulf War Syndrome,
·And the establishment of the National Center for Women Veterans.
We have the largest commuter railroad in the country running alongside the facility, with convenient access to one of the largest airports in the country, subways, buses, and major highways all around us.
Think of the economic benefits to this community, the jobs that will be created, the educational opportunities and internships for local institutions offering medical and nursing courses.
Think BIG! Don’t let Saint Albans become a glorified nursing home.
And again, NO LAND GIVEAWAYS!