S.J. picked for veterans' home

By Zachary K. Johnson

STOCKTON – A long sought-after medical facility to provide expanded services closer to home for the growing population of veterans living in the Valley will be built in San Joaquin County.

The $250 million facility – announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – will include a 120-bed nursing home and a regional outpatient clinic offering medical services that have been unavailable to local veterans unless they traveled to Livermore or Palo Alto.

Elected officials and veterans have for years pushed to place the new facility in the county. They agreed Thursday that the decision supports what they had been saying all along – San Joaquin County makes the most sense.

"It’s great news," said Tino Adame, commander of Karl Ross American Legion Post 16. "It’s long overdue."

Population and location figured high in the lobbying efforts to VA officials. Local advocates have pointed to the county’s proximity to some 90,000 veterans in surrounding communities. San Joaquin County alone has 42,000 veterans.

And the number of veterans needing medical care is expected to increase as the Valley’s population grows and as new veterans return from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"It’s a new generation – we have to be sure we’re ready for them," said Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton. McNerney, a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, has been a strong advocate for placing the facility in the county. In addition to increased access for veterans, the construction and staffing of the facility will bring 900 jobs, he said.

Veterans trying to take advantage of local education programs have been losing out because of the distances they must travel to receive health care, said Brandon Biegert of the Veterans Student Alliance at San Joaquin Delta College. Driving as far as Palo Alto to make an appointment can be a burden, he said.

"That can really play havoc when you’re trying to go to school," said Biegert, who served in Iraq. He said student veterans have dropped out because of the time lost to travel.

Both San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties submitted proposals to host the new facilities, though the VA also reviewed Tuolumne and Calaveras counties before making its decision.

San Joaquin County’s official pitch began in 2005, when the Board of Supervisors approved a proposal to locate the facility in French Camp. It offered to lease 8 acres on the San Joaquin General Hospital campus for $1 a year. County officials have since increased that offer to 15 acres.

Local officials still prefer the French Camp site, but the Veterans Affairs agency has not yet chosen an exact location.

Wherever the new facilities are located, they are expected to be completed by 2015.

Kerri Childress, spokeswoman for the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, said they will bring new services, such as radiology, pharmacy, dental, optometry, audiology and physical therapy.

In the meantime, the VA will expand existing clinics in Modesto and French Camp by the end of 2010, she said.

About 15,000 veterans from San Joaquin County and beyond use the French Camp clinic, which is at capacity, county Veterans Services Officer Ron Green said. But with planned changes in eligibility requirements and a growing number of veterans, more will seek medical care.

"There’s going to be a greater demand for VA health-care services," he said. Among military discharges in 2008, he said, about 40 per month listed their county of residence as San Joaquin.

It took a concerted effort from Green, veterans and elected officials to bring the new facility to San Joaquin County, said Leroy Ornellas, chairman of the Board of Supervisors.

The new facility will make life easier for county veterans, he said. "They’re going to have a place virtually in their backyard."

Contact reporter Zachary K. Johnson at (209) 546-8258 or zjohnson@recordnet.com.