Veteran health clinic to open at Fort Detrick next summer

Veterans and officials gathered Friday at Fort Detrick to break ground on a new outpatient clinic for veterans in Western Maryland.

The closest clinic for Frederick veterans is in Martinsburg, W.Va., and officials said this deters some patients from seeking the medical care they need and deserve.

"The veterans were concerned about the long travel time in order to get just basic primary care needs," said Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland.

"Sometimes it's as simple as just trying to get a referral, but they'd have to travel to Martinsburg in order to get that information. It becomes almost impossible to get their needs met."

Ann Brown, director of the Martinsburg VA clinic, said she expects about 3,000 patients when the Fort Detrick clinic opens in July 2010, a number that will likely grow over the years. The clinic will provide primary care and mental health services, as well as some more specialized services like nutrition counseling and podiatry.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, a Republican who represents Western Maryland, said the clinic was long past due for this area of the state.

"I've been very concerned about our veterans," Bartlett said, pointing out that a disproportionate number of homeless people were Vietnam veterans. He said veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are facing homelessness, high suicide rates and family problems.

"So I'm very pleased that we're adding this facility here, providing them adequate health care that will help take care of some of those problems," he said.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will run the Fort Detrick Community Based Outpatient Clinic, which will sit next to the Barquist Army Health Clinic that serves active duty and retired service members and their families.

Barquist was overwhelmed with work over the summer, when one of the five physicians quit and another was out on medical leave. There was also a 40 percent turnover in the nursing staff, so appointments were limited and waits were longer than usual. Having two separate clinics for veterans and for active duty members could relieve some of the stress on Barquist.

Lt. Col. Jeffrey Leggit, commander of the clinic, said in a statement in September that "we've made arrangements to share some resources with the clinic so patients of both clinics will have expanded access to things such as physical therapy, some diagnostics and more."

Brown said she was excited to partner with the Army to provide additional services to both sets of patients.

Though there were some initial concerns about the Fort Detrick location -- namely, the tight security gate patients will need to pass through before entering the Army post -- Brown said those issues have been resolved.

Cardin said the Fort Detrick location was a smart choice, helping save money and resources while providing veterans a convenient location.

"This is the least we can do to make sure we carry out our commitment to those who served our nation with such great distinction," he said during the ceremony.

Copyright 2009 The Frederick News-Post. All rights reserved.