Defense Secretary Panetta visits Lovell federal health care facility in Lake County

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited Lake County after the NATO summit closed Monday to tour a one-of-a-kind health care facility serving active Navy personnel and military veterans since 2010.

Panetta said the Capt. James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago is an example of how the Defense Department and Department of Veterans Affairs can work together to improve medical coverage for those in the military, veterans, retirees and their dependents.

"In order to meet our sacred responsibilities to this next greatest generation, we are going to have to fully leverage capabilities and strengths of both of our departments," Panetta said in a brief news conference after his Lovell facility tour.

"And we must break down the barriers between our departments that prevent us from partnering to deliver a highest quality care to those who need it."

Great Lakes Naval Station personnel and VA clients have had access to the same medical care since the Lovell facility officially opened in October 2011. Officials have said it serves as a model for other VA-Defense Department medical center combinations in the United States.

About 829,400 outpatient visits and nearly 4,500 inpatient admissions were recorded in 2011. The complex, at Route 137 and Green Bay Road, includes a 209,945-square-foot ambulatory care facility and has roughly 3,000 full-time employees.

"This facility is helping us chart the course for the future," said Panetta, who was joined by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki on the tour.

As for the NATO conference that concluded Monday, Panetta said he was encouraged by the attendance of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. Panetta addressed the potential for achieving a deal so Pakistan reopens supply routes for NATO troops fighting in Afghanistan.

Pakistan sealed the routes after its soldiers were killed by U.S. aircraft by the Afghan border late last year.

"We still have a ways to go," Panetta said. "But, I think, the good news is that we are negotiating and that we are making some progress. It is extremely important that ultimately we be able to open up those lines of communication and transport, so that we can expedite the assistance that needs to go toward men and women in uniform who are fighting the battle."