Bradley Byrne: New Mobile VA clinic is long overdue
I had long heard the complaints about the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic in Mobile. Whether it was at town hall meetings, Memorial Day events, or while shopping at the grocery store, veterans always shared their concerns about the Mobile VA outpatient clinic. The Mobile VA clinic is critically important. Southwest Alabama is home to over 50,000 veterans, and our area takes great pride and patriotism in supporting our veterans. It has always been a shame the VA clinic did not live up to the same high standard. Our area has seen growth over the last few years, and this has only made the problems worse. See, the clinic doesn’t just serve veterans from Mobile. Our outpatient clinic is used by veterans from the surrounding counties. Soon after being elected to Congress, I paid a visit to the clinic myself and quickly realized the facility was outdated and far too small. The facility lacked many of the basic resources that you would expect from a modern-day VA clinic. I started to ask questions about the status of a new VA clinic in Mobile. It turned out my predecessor, Congressman Jo Bonner, was able to secure funding for a new VA clinic before he left Congress, but the project had stalled out. Bureaucratic delays and red tape stood in the way. This just simply wasn’t acceptable. Our veterans deserved better. I held a meeting in Washington and Biloxi with relevant VA officials. Then, I sent a letter to VA Secretary Robert McDonald demanding an update on a new Mobile VA clinic. My staff and I kept the foot on the gas and continued demanding updates and answers from the VA. Finally, the perseverance of my team and other local officials paid off. A few weeks ago, my office was notified Mobile would finally be getting a new VA clinic. The new clinic will be located in a convenient location in Tillman’s Corner, right off of I-10. The clinic will be over 65,000 square feet, which is a major improvement over the current facility’s 35,000 square feet. The new clinic will provide space for primary care, audiology and speech pathology, education, eye clinics, mental health, patient advocacy, radiology, Veterans’ Service Organizations, and women’s health. The new, updated clinic will certainly provide better care to our veterans. While the new clinic is music to the ears of our local veterans, I also understand that a new clinic alone will not solve all the problems at the VA. The VA has much larger and deeper issues that a new clinic simply cannot solve. The VA bureaucracy is too big and fosters a culture of complacency. Too many VA officials are allowed to continue underperforming because of the lack of accountability. This is why I will continue to be a forceful advocate in Congress for increasing veteran access to private medical care. I believe every veteran should be able to seek medical care from doctors and hospitals in their local communities instead of having to receive care from VA facilities. I also will keep pushing to improve accountability at the VA. If an employee is failing our veterans, they should be removed from their position, not promoted to a different role. I am proud to represent the 50,000 veterans who call Southwest Alabama home. I am proud of the progress we have made on their behalf but more challenges remain. No matter how difficult this fight may be, I will not back down. Our veterans did not back down from serving us, and I won’t back down from fighting for them. • • • Bradley Byrne is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 1st Congressional District.
New Mobile, Ala. Veterans Affairs clinic finally on way
Soon veterans living in Mobile won’t have to travel far to receive care. A new clinic has been approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to replace the current, outdated clinic on Springhill Avenue. Thanks in part go to Alabama 1st District U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, who’s made getting a new VA clinic one of his top priorities in Congress. Byrne made the announcement of the new clinic in a press release Thursday afternoon. “This announcement is music to the ears of the over 50,000 veterans who live in Southwest Alabama,” said Byrne. “Since being elected to Congress, I have repeatedly called on the VA to move forward with this project. It is a shame the process took as long as it did, but the new facility will be able to better serve those who have given so much to our country.” Byrne continued, “The work is not done. I will continue to provide diligent oversight throughout the construction process to ensure the project remains on schedule. We must also continue pushing for reforms at the VA to ensure accountability and promote greater choices for our veterans.” Last April, Byrne sent a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald, urging the VA to expedite construction of a new VA clinic in Mobile. More information on the new clinic is not yet available.
