Carl LaGrotterria is getting his wish. After years of overcrowding brought on by burgeoning numbers of veterans, the James J. Howard Veterans Clinic will open a new supplemental location in September.

"They want to help their vets, but the staff sometimes is overwhelmed and overworked," said the 66-year-old veteran from Brick. "The phones are ridiculous. You can rarely get through and have to wait for callbacks."

The news comes as the federal Department of Veterans Affairs faces a litany of complaints about patient care, wait times and falsified data, leading to scrutiny by Congress and changes in leadership.

The reason for the overcrowding can be seen in the statistics. The 34,000-square-foot clinic is located in Ocean County, which has the largest number of veterans — more than 43,000 — in New Jersey. That number is 10,000 more than in Burlington County, which has the second-largest group in New Jersey.

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The Brick clinic "was built in 1991. From my understanding, it was established to serve, I believe, 5,000 veterans. We currently have over 11,000 enrolled at this facility," said John Griffith, an associate director in the Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System (VANJHCS).

On any given day, Griffith said, 300 to 500 veterans come through the doors. It adds up to more than 81,000 doctor visits a year. Parking is at a premium, too.

"It's our biggest community-based outpatient clinic ... in New Jersey," he said.

LaGroterria, who has been using the clinic since it opened, said getting a dentist appointment could take up to five weeks, while seeing a doctor could be a wait of about a month.

"The staff is incredibly great. They're just dealing with a huge influx of people in the last few years using that clinic," LaGroterria said. "It's grown beyond belief."

The new facility, located at 1688 Route 88 in Brick, will add 5,000 more square feet. The new outpatient clinic will house physical therapy, prosthetics, optometry and have a shuttle to the East Orange campus, said Sandra Warren, spokeswoman for VANJHCS.

The original facility, nearby at 970 Route 70 in Brick, will maintain its current role, housing the pharmacy, audiology, radiology, dental, mental health care and other services.

The clinic's administration originally had tried to lease additional space a few years ago, but the effort hit a wall.

"The VA was on track to enter into a new lease for a larger Ocean County facility last summer," said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. "(But) a policy shift at the Congressional Budget Office put the lease in jeopardy."

Then this year, a scandal hit the Department of Veterans Affairs, when reports surfaced of secret waiting lists to mask long wait times and the deaths of 40 veterans who were waiting for care at a Phoenix Veterans Administration medical facility.

An investigation by the VA Inspector General found the long wait lists were systematic across the country. The scandal forced the resignation of Eric K. Shinseki, the secretary of Veterans Affairs.

"That's been the problem for a long time," said LaGrotteria. "They deserve better than that."

Smith said he found the scandal deeply disturbing. "America's veterans deserve real accountability and a cultural change at the VA," he said.

He called it a "sacred task" to care for the nation's veterans.

LaGroterria is a double-leg amputee above the knee who has been using the VA health care system since 1971, when he stepped on an improvised explosive device, or IED, while on a routine patrol in Chu Lai in the Quang Nam Provence in Vietnam.

"What does IED mean? It means they took a whole bunch of garbage, put it together and added some C-4 Semtex," he said.

LaGroterria was just 20 years old when he learned he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

"The Veterans Affairs has been good to me," he said. "The VA is probably the foremost (agency) on research and medicinal technique. From that perspective, the quality of care has improved over the years."

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In response to the scandal, President Barack Obama signed a bill last week that will pump nearly $16 billion into the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs. The money will go toward hiring more doctors and staff, and improving facilities. It also will allow for veterans using the VA Healthcare system to seek care from civilian doctors.

Smith was able to the secure $7 million needed for the Brick clinic to expand.

"Our local veterans will soon have access to a new facility, with additional space and services, including more parking, to help insure they receive the care they have earned in a timely manner," he said.

The new facility however, is not a result of the scandal, said a spokesman for Smith's office.

"The case could be made that if there wasn't a scandal the bill would not have passed. But this project was in the works for a couple of years. It would have taken place without the scandal," said Jeff Sagnip, spokesman for the congressman.

VETERAN POPULATIONS, 2014

43,666 Ocean County

32,059 Monmouth County

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Adding 5,000 square feet

Some veterans' care would shift to the new satellite facility.

Facility built in 1991

The current building was designed to handle 5,000 veterans.

Serving 11,000 veterans

The clinic is now handling more than twice the number of veterans it was designed to accommodate.

43,666 veterans in Ocean County

That is the largest number of veterans in any county in New Jersey.

Original story ran on Page 1 on Aug. 14, 2014 at:
 
http://www.app.com/story/news/local/ocean-county/2014/08/13/new-brick-site-veterans-health-care/14020751/