Officials answering North Alabama veterans’ call for VA Hospital

NORTH ALABAMA, Ala. ( WHNT ) — North Alabama is home to nearly a quarter of all veterans in the state but does not house a VA Hospital.

While the available clinics nearby can cover many needs, clinic care doesn't mimic a hospital.

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"Because the clinic is only a clinic," Birmingham VA Health Care System CEO Oladipo Kukoyi said. "And the clinic can only offer limited things. For really most specialties, people have to come up. So, if they want to see an orthopedic doctor, for example. If they have to have surgery of any kind, you've got to come to Birmingham. If you have to be admitted to the hospital, you have to come to Birmingham."

North Alabama has three VA clinics: Huntsville, Guntersville and Sheffield. Veterans find that they face health challenges that require further care than a clinic can provide, and many express that the trip to Birmingham is just too far.

"When you talk two hours down and two hours back, that's half a day," Bobby Lee Jr., a veteran, said. "That you're spending either on the road or sitting in an office and having something done that you could be doing something else."

And that's an issue that lawmakers in the Tennessee Valley have heard loud and clear. U.S. Congressman Dale Strong champions improving the lives of veterans here at home.

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"I personally don't believe our veterans should have to travel 120, 140 miles to have a minor to moderate procedure," Congressman Strong said.

A hospital would take 15 to 20 years to complete, according to the Birmingham VA Health Care System. Because of this prolonged period of time, the healthcare system is working with lawmakers to find another solution.

Lawmakers and VA officials have decided that a medical center, taking only half of the time and funding, is the most feasible answer, for now. A medical center offers more specialty care than a clinic, but not all of the services that a full-fledged hospital provides.

"I would be able to provide much of the services that's needed, with the exception of anything that requires inpatient care," Kukoyi said.

Congressman Strong also sees this as a reasonable side step, providing more medical care for veterans while officials sort out a more long-term future of VA health care in North Alabama.

"You've got to start at the medical center first, and then you see how that is received and whether the bed space is needed," Congressman Strong said.

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The Birmingham VA Health Care System noted that funding, space and time were all restraints for a full hospital.

"So, we think given the limitation in major construction funding, going in the direction of a health care center is the right thing to do and will get us more care for more veterans as quickly as possible," Kukoyi said.

While there's no approved plan to start pouring the concrete just yet, the healthcare system said it hopes to get its plans approved this year.