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On Tour of Northport VA, Suozzi Urges Veterans Affairs Secretary Wilkie to Expedite Upgrade of Facilities

Rep Suozzi, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, Northport VA Director Dr Antonio Sanchez
July 23, 2020
Press Release
Suozzi discussed his priorities, specifically demolition of Buildings 1 and 2, improving mental health services, assisted living for aging veterans, and establishment of Community Based Outpatient Clinics in western Nassau County

Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D – Long Island, Queens) joined the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert Wilkie, for a visit to the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which provides health care services to veterans on Long Island and surrounding areas. Secretary Wilkie and Suozzi toured the facility and discussed ways to improve care for veterans. Suozzi discussed his priorities for the Northport VAMC, specifically the demolition of Buildings 1 and 2. These crumbling buildings are the first buildings one sees upon entering the Northport campus. Suozzi has been pushing to have these buildings demolished since coming to Congress in 2017 and, earlier this month, announced that the Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $6.984 million demolition contract to an upstate New York firm. The demolition of these buildings will not only make room for much-needed parking for patients, staff, and visitors, but will restore the reputation of the Northport VA as being one of our nation’s premier facilities for the care of our veterans.

 

“I want to thank Secretary Wilkie for visiting this critical facility, which serves more than 30,000 veterans each year. Upgrading the Northport VA has been a priority of mine since I came to Congress in 2017,” said Suozzi. “During our tour, I made several suggestions to the Secretary on how Northport can become the premier facility it once was recognized as being. While we still have a long way to go, I am encouraged that under the skilled leadership of Dr. Antonio Sanchez, we have made progress, including the recent announcement that a contract has been awarded for the demolition of Buildings 1 and 2, something that I have been advocating on behalf of for four years.”

 

“Here in Northport and across the country, VA staff stepped up to provide life-saving care during these important times,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “From quickly transitioning to virtual care, to designing innovative outreach efforts, the staff here have provided flexibility and resilience when the community needed it most. I am proud to join them today and show my gratitude for their incredible work.”

  

Improvements for the facility suggested by Suozzi to the VA Secretary include:

 

  • The demolitions of Buildings 1 and 2: by December 2020, now that a contract has been awarded by the Army Corps of Engineers. 
  • Mental health services for veterans: providing mental health services for our Veterans nationwide has been a top priority for Suozzi. He is also advocating for Northport to be chosen as one of the nine sites nationally for a clinical trial that will study the efficacy of using meditation as a treatment for PTSD.
  • Assisted living for Long Island’s aging veterans: Long Island’s aging veteran population and the Northport VAMC’s abundant land provide the Department with an excellent opportunity to implement a public-private assisted living pilot program that can serve as a model and help address many of the issues posed by an increasingly older population.
  • Establishment of permanent Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in Western Nassau County: Suozzi is advocating for permanent CBOCs in the Town of North Hempstead and Glen Cove as it can take more than two hours for veterans to travel from Western Nassau County to Northport.