Plan to convert Brooklyn VA Hospital to ambulatory center raises alarm with vets, pols
VA Says it Will Improve Quality and Be More Efficient
A plan to eliminate inpatient surgery at Brooklyn’s VA hospital and transfer these services to the Manhattan VA hospital is raising alarm among Brooklyn and Staten Island military veterans and local officials, who say they are worried the move will cause a hardship for veterans in the outer boroughs.
On Wednesday, more than a dozen New York City officials, led by U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan (Bay Ridge, Staten Island), wrote a letter to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin urging the Veterans Administration to reconsider the move, which would transform the Brooklyn Veterans Administration Medical Center at 800 Poly Place in Bay Ridge from a “complex” to an “ambulatory advanced” facility.
The officials said the VA isn’t considering the difficulties the vets and their families will face traveling into Manhattan, forcing them to delay or forgo necessary medical treatment.