Delegate Christensen And San Juan Veterans Administration Officials Meet With St. John Veterans Over Medical Care Concerns

Contact Aesha Duval @ 340-778-5900

At the request of several St. John veterans, Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christensen, joined by Nancy Reissener, acting director of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Juan; Dr. Sandra Gracia, the chief of staff; and Harry Daniel, Assistant Director of Veteran’s Affairs for the Virgin Islands, heard complaints and concerns over inadequate medical services for veterans in St. John.

More than 30 veterans attended the meeting at the St. John Legislative Conference Room Monday morning. Among the issues discussed were inadequate services, lack of medical staff, difficulty with transportation out of the territory for appointments and laboratory testing, long waits for appointments, frequently cancelled appointments and problems with getting prescriptions filled.

St. John veterans complained of repeatedly traveling to St. Thomas for an appointment and not being notified that the appointment was cancelled because there are not enough physicians on staff at the VA Clinic.

“It was a good meeting because the people who can fix the problems, including the person in charge of the Veterans centers for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and Mr. Daniel of the Office of Veterans Affairs, were present,” said Christensen.

Christensen said the San Juan delegation and local Veterans Affairs officials pledged to explore ways to resolve those issues and also provided valuable information that would improve services to our veterans. Mr. Daniel informed the veterans that with proper documentation, they can be reimbursed for their travel expenses. Christensen said they discussed ways of educating veterans on the process and making is easier.

Daniel informed the veterans about plans to increase the use of telemedicine and the agency’s goal to provide services to veterans as close to the home as possible. Daniel encouraged veterans to contact or visit their offices should they run into difficulty getting the services that they need. He added that a Veterans Summit is being planned for August.

Reissener and other members of the Puerto Rico delegation, which included Patient Advocate Alex Roman and Chief of Health Benefits Administration Systems Miriam Zayas, pledged to make a commitment to becoming team players and creating new partnerships with the Office of Veterans Affairs and the American Legion Posts throughout the Virgin Islands.

“I want to thank my new St. John employee Lorelei Monsanto for the prompt and comprehensive way she responded to the veterans’ request,” Christensen said. “I will work with our local offices of Veterans Affairs in going forward to monitor and correct some of the very basic problems experienced by St. John veterans and all veterans in the Virgin Islands.”

Veterans in St. John can meet with local Veterans Affairs staff from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays at the Battery in St. John. For more information, contact the V.I. Office of Veterans Affairs at 774-6100.

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