Veterans health care help coming soon to Naperville
Veterans who need health care can step right up, say the organizers of a clinic on wheels that's soon to be making monthly appearances in Naperville.
A mobile medical unit from Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital will visit Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month beginning Jan. 5, said Pamela Kostecki, a social worker with the mobile medical unit.
Social workers and nurse practitioners aboard the traveling clinic aim to get eligible veterans registered for VA health care and provide primary care. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates there are 25,342 veterans in DuPage County who have not registered.
"In the same visit, someone can get registered with Hines VA Hospital, get a flu shot, see our social worker and see our nurse practitioner right here on site," Kostecki said.
Naperville will be the 16th site for a mobile medical clinic from Hines VA since the program began in 2012. Kostecki said the medical services bus first focused on attending events and registering veterans in rural areas. But in summer 2014, Hines switched the emphasis to providing regular clinics in areas far from the hospital's main campus off Roosevelt Road near Broadview.
The Naperville clinic site at Judd Kendall VFW Post 3873, 908 Jackson Ave., is 22 miles southwest of the hospital, so having closer access to medical care will be a plus, said Mike Barbour, a service officer with the post and Naperville Township veterans advocate.
Barbour said transportation can be a hurdle for older veterans, and many who have served don't know what benefits they're eligible to receive.
"One of the biggest problems that our veterans have is that when you're dealing with the VA ... there's a process that you have to go through, and you can't skip steps in that process or it just delays everything," Barbour said. "The folks on the mobile medical unit understand the process and can help our folks navigate that process."
It starts with bringing military discharge papers and last year's tax return, then completing a physical. Specific tests also could be ordered based on risks during the era in which a veteran served, Barbour said.
A change early this year in the way the VA determines eligibility for care could mean more veterans will qualify, Kostecki said. Instead of considering the value of a veteran's assets, only his or her income now applies toward eligibility calculations.
Suburban veterans who register with Hines can gain easier access to research the VA conducts about environmental hazards on veteran health, Kostecki said. Plus, the VA provides geriatric care and Alzheimer's or dementia assistance, which Barbour said are helpful programs.
After the sacrifices veterans made to serve, advocates say it's important to make sure their medical needs are met.
"Our veterans deserve this from our country," Kostecki said.