Serving veterans

By: JOURNAL EDITORIAL STAFF | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: February 08, 2010

We applaud the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' plans to place a branch clinic in the Marketplace Mall on Peters Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem. We should do everything we can for those who've put it all on the line for our country, from the Greatest Generation to the many returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

That hasn't always been the case. In recent years, many veterans have reported unreasonable waiting times for help from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Fortunately, the medical center in Salisbury and the VA clinic on Kimel Park Drive in Winston-Salem provide generally good service. The center and the clinic will oversee the operations of the branch clinic.

But the branch is needed. The Kimel Park clinic had more than 107,000 outpatient visits last year, up from just over 94,000 in 2008.

The VA plans to open the branch clinic this summer in much of the space formerly used by the Steve & Barry store, the Journal's Fran Daniel reported. The addition of the clinic will nearly fill the mall. The veterans and their families will probably bring it some business as well.

But most important, the branch clinic will be an easily accessible alternative for veterans seeking health care. The new clinic will offer primary care, some specialty-care services and pension and compensation exams. It will also house primary-care teams for mental-health and women's health.

It's near a bus stop and has parking near the entrance for the many veterans using walkers or wheelchairs. Charles Evans, a Vietnam veteran, said he's glad that the clinic will be closer to his home.

"I think it's a good idea because a lot of veterans in this town don't have a way to get around," Evans said. "They don't have transportation readily available."

Veterans, whether they serve in times of peace or war, don't ask a lot from their country. But they give it so much, often risking life and limb in faraway lands for modest pay. They're away from their families for long periods of time.

When their service is done, we owe them the best. Many of those who've been in combat have needed, and will need for years to come, state-of-the-art care to help them heal from the physical and mental wounds of war.

The new clinic should help provide that vital service.