Gov. McAuliffe visits Petersburg following release from hospital

PETERSBURG — Gov. Terry McAuliffe appeared healthy as a horse at the Appomattox Area Health and Wellness Center in Petersburg yesterday morning, where he unveiled a new program that expands veteran's access to medical services.

"Sitting here today, I feel great," he said.

McAuliffe was released from the VCU Medical Center Thursday morning following a horseback injury while vacationing in Africa. McAuliffe shattered seven ribs and punctured a lung after falling off a horse. He was admitted into the hospital on Monday.

Virginia is the first state in the country to take advantage of the $10 billion federal Veterans Choice Program from Congress' Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act. The program allows veterans to receive medical care from facilities outside the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers.

“I’m proud to sit here today and tell you that Virginia is the first state in the United States of America to leverage this new federal legislation to develop the new provider agreements between federally-qualified health centers and the Veterans Administration,” McAuliffe said. “We are first and once again we will be a model for the rest of the nation.”

Virginia has the most veterans per capita than any state in the country, with 800,000 veterans total.

One the many local veterans who will save time is Pvt. 1st Class Whitney Hazelton, a U.S. Army veteran and single mother of three. Hazelton lives in Dinwiddie County and says she currently has to drive over 50 miles each way to get to the Hunter Holmes McGuire V.A. Medical Center.

“This program does benefit someone like me. I have a baby, I have two daughters in school, so this is an issue for me,” Hazelton said. “I think this will be a good program.”

"With that distinct honor of having so many veterans I believe comes a responsibility. So if we’ve got the most per capita, we should be out there the most,” McAuliffe said. “You have fought for our nation, you have served our nation, we owe you the health care.”

There are four federally-qualified V.A. Medical Centers in Virginia. Now veterans will have 22 new access points from community health centers from around the state including locations — in Dinwiddie, Prince George and the Appomattox Area Health and Wellness Center in Petersburg — that allow veterans to access medical facilities closer to home and decrease patient waiting times.

Other access points will be located in Louisa, Alberta, Amelia and Emporia counties, as well as Fredericksburg, Ferrum, Charles City and Charlotte Court House.

In order to become eligible, veterans must live at least 40 miles from the nearest V.A. Medical Center and face a waiting time of over 30 days for an appointment.

“Veterans have to travel very long distances for care or they might be forced to wait a month or so to see a doctor and I don’t have to remind anybody in this room what a month could mean to an individual’s personal health care situation, you could deteriorate precipitously over a month, a lot can happen,” McAuliffe said.

The Veterans Choice Program is part of McAuliffe’s 10-step “A Healthy Virginia” program that was created after the General Assembly blocked his budget amendment that would have granted free healthcare for over 400,000 uninsured Virginians. The governor’s new program aims to insure 200,000 Virginians with healthcare. McAuliffe said he was prompted to act following the Veterans Health Administration scandal last year.

Hazelton said she must go to McGuire even in instances where she would need emergency care due to an acute injury or severe illness and as a mother, she said she doesn’t have the time to wait in a doctor’s office all day, which she says it has sometimes taken.

Now under the new program, Hazelton will be able to get health care services 10 minutes away from her home.

“Getting care that’s ten minutes away from me, that’s a big difference,” she said. “Ten miles verse one hundred miles is a huge, huge impact for me.”

“We are talking about real people and real people’s lives,” McAuliffe added. “Whitney is a perfect example of what this program means.”

At the start of the event Rod Manifold, executive director of Central Virginia Health Services, thanked the governor for the opportunity to participate in the program. John Harvey, Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, and William Hazel Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Resources, were also both in attendance to support the governor.

“The governor gets the issues. He’s all in on this and he’s been supremely dedicated. It wasn’t just talk. This is facts,” Harvey said. “This is ‘What do we have to do to make sure Virginia is the first in line and doing the best we can.’”

Hazel said his department is working to end veteran homelessness by the end of 2015.

“We’re in a 100-day campaign and right now we have 260 that are actually in houses, our goal was 270, and we have another 140 in process,” Hazel said.

McAuliffe promised more aid to veterans health in the future.

“The last thing I want you all to know is, folks, I’m just getting started,” he said.

Shelby Mertens may be reached at 804-732-5154 or smertens@progress-index.com.