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West Long Branch, NJ --- U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-6) and Rush Holt (NJ-12) yesterday held a conference call with several officials at the Department of Defense (DoD) regarding the future of the Patterson Army Health Clinic at Fort Monmouth in an effort to ensure that military retirees and their dependents continue to receive the medical care they’ve earned, regardless of the clinic’s final status. The DoD is scheduled to close Ft. Monmouth in 2011 due to recommendations by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission.
"It is not true that the Patterson Clinic must close when the Fort closes," Pallone said. "The Army has discretion over the future of this facility and we want to work with them to make sure the retired military personnel in Monmouth County receive the medical care they have earned and deserve at the current site."
Last month Col. John Morse, a member of the BRAC Beneficiary Working Group on Health Care, visited Fort Monmouth to tell patients that the facility was planned to close on October 1, 2010. He briefed the Patterson patients on how they would be able to receive care from civilian doctors in the surrounding area, but many of the patients expressed concerns about the increased cost they may face by not going to a military treatment facility. The next closest military treatment facility is at McGuire Air Force Base, which is over an hour away from Fort Monmouth.
"Patients of the Patterson Clinic absolutely should not face a diminished level of care or increased cost, based on decisions that have nothing to do with them,” Holt said, referring to the Fort’s scheduled closure. “The DoD must investigate alternative options.”
At the most recent Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority (FMERPA) meeting, the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (NJDMAVA) presented their proposal to develop a veterans haven at the Patterson clinic site. The two congressmen discussed this option of turning over the Patterson clinic to the state of New Jersey, and having both the existing veterans clinic and an army clinic for military retirees operate at the same location, or having the retired military serviced by the veterans clinic. The two congressmen secured a commitment from the DoD officials to discuss this proposal with NJDMAVA.
The DoD officials pledged to work with the two New Jersey lawmakers and follow up with NJDMAVA and the FMERPA on alternatives that would provide quality care without the burden of added cost to the thousands of active duty and retired military personnel in Monmouth County. |
