For Immediate Release:
September 30, 2008
VA Clinic to remain open at Fort Monmouth
10,000 veterans and retirees depend on facility for medical services
FREEHOLD – The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to announce that the VA clinic located at Fort Monmouth will remain open after the fort closes and will continue providing medical services to the 10,000 veterans and retirees who use it.
Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry, the county’s representative on the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority (FMERPA), said she has been in negotiations with the Veterans Administration officials here, in Washington and with local hospitals. Currently, she is brokering a public/private partnership that will allow the clinic to remain open.
Initially, the Veterans Administration had been prepared to abandon FortMonmouth and close what is known as the Patterson Army Health Clinic.
“There was a group of us who were absolutely determined that this was not going to happen,” Burry said. “I lobbied for this in every way that I knew how, both here and in Washington. As time evolved, we got the attention of the VA on the state level and eventually they saw the foolishness of the decision to abandon veterans in our area. ”
Medical care at Patterson Army Health Clinic (PAHC), has been available in one form or another since 1958, and continues today as an integral part of the operation of Fort Monmouth. PAHC has the mission of providing ambulatory and preventive health care services to approximately 10,000 eligible beneficiaries. PAHC sees approximately 120 patients per working day. The primary focus of PAHC is to increase the health and wellness of the population through preventive health services.
“Recently, we had meetings with the Veterans Administration and Department of Defense, then in conjunction with private medical providers and there was a very positive turn of events,” Burry said. “They will either expand the present facility or replace it with a brand new building. Either way, it will be operated jointly by the VA and the private hospitals medical providers.”
The present facility was opened and dedicated in 1958. It is named in honor of Major General Robert Urie Patterson, United States Army Medical Corps (1877-1950) who served the Army with distinction from 1899-1935. He was awarded two Silver Stars for conspicuous gallantry in action in the Philippines and the Distinguished Service Medal. During World War I, the British, Italian, Czechoslovakian and Serbian governments decorated Major General Patterson.
During the postwar years, his assignments included Instructor, U.S. Army War College; General Staff, War Department; Medical Director, U.S. Veteran’s Bureau; Executive Officer, Office of the Surgeon General and Commander of the Army and Navy Hospital, Hot Springs, Arkansas. He served a four-year term as Surgeon General of the Army, retired in 1935 and died in 1950.
In a related matter, Burry announced that 500 acres of land at Fort Monmouth will be saved for open space and use by the public. They include basketball courts, a teen center with a swimming pool, as well as the parade grounds and marina in Oceanport.
“In partnership with the host communities, the county and the Monmouth County Park System looked at the entire plan and identified areas that can be saved,” Burry said. “It won’t be houses, and it will fulfill a tremendous need in that region of the county.”
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