Andy Kim

 

Four members of New Jersey's Congressional delegation want answers about the timeline for construction of a new Veterans clinic in Ocean County.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Dr. Joan McInerney, network director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in New York, U.S. Reps. Andy Kim, D-New Jersey, and Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, and U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, both D-New Jersey, said Veterans in Monmouth and Ocean counties have grown frustrated by delays in building the new clinic.

The VA began seeking space for a new clinic in Ocean County in the spring of 2015, but in 2018, the agency decided to reopen the siting process for the clinic in an effort to "increase qualified competition" for the project, according to the senators and congressmen.

The existing facility on Route 70 in Brick has too little room for patient parking and the medical staff required to serve 10,000 to 12,000 patients per year. Brick's clinic is currently among the busiest in the state, and serves three to four times as many patients as a majority of other VA clinics in New Jersey.

The clinic offers medical care for Veterans, including primary health care, dental care, women's health care, mental health counseling and physical therapy.

Built in 1991, the Brick clinic was initially intended to serve 5,000 Veterans annually.

“Ocean County Veterans deserve better than what they’re getting right now, and they can’t wait for results," Kim said. "I hear from Veterans almost every day who simply want answers. We’re going to keep working, across party lines and as quickly as possible, to get our Veterans the clinic and the care they’ve earned through their service and sacrifice.”

Ocean County has more Veterans — nearly 40,000 — than any other county in New Jersey, according to U.S. Census data.

In their letter, Kim, Smith, Menendez and Booker said that the VA should produce a more specific timeline for when a final decision will be made about where to locate the clinic. The VA has said that site selection will happen by the first or second quarter of 2020.

Brick's Planning Board recently approved a proposal for a 75,000-square-foot medical facility on a triangular 9.4-acre parcel between Route 88, Jack Martin Boulevard and Burrsville Road. The facility is called the "Project" in planning board documents, but Brick Mayor John G. Ducey said in early October that the planned medical facility meets the VA's specifications for a replacement clinic.

Toms River officials have made a pitch for a new, expanded medical center for Veterans to be located on land off Hooper Avenue, near Caudina Avenue that's close to the Seacourt Pavilion and Ocean County offices.

Kim, Smith, Menendez and Booker said local Veterans face issues accessing care at the Brick clinic, which they say has "unacceptably long wait times," "too few providers," not enough parking and no easy mass transit access. The facility also lacks automatic doors at its entrances, making access hard for wheelchair-bound Veterans, they said.

The senators and congressmen posed several questions for the VA's McInerny and said they expect answers by Dec. 8. Included in their letter are questions about staffing at the Brick clinic, transportation options for Veterans, and what can be done to alleviate the parking shortage there.

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