VA drops plans to consolidate its Boston-area hospitals
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday it was dropping plans to consolidate treatment services at its medical centers in Bedford, Brockton, and Boston's West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain sections.
"The potential benefits to be gained from any consolidation do not justify the disruption to veterans or to our first-class health care system in Boston," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake in a statement. "For the future, VA is prepared to provide health care for Boston veterans at its current four campuses."
Massachusetts members of Congress and veterans supporters across the state have been fighting for nearly five years against VA plans to shift some services at its Boston-area hospitals, saying it would hurt veterans and their families.
Veterans and their advocates complained that such moves by the VA could mean longer commutes and other hardships for veterans and their families.
"We're pleased and the people who utilize those facilities and work there will be pleased," Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "This strengthens the VA system."
Tierney, along with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., led the delegation's effort to persuade the VA to abandon its consolidation plans.
"The VA made the right decision to keep the hospitals in Bedford, Brockton, West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain open," Kennedy said in a statement. "It's a victory for all the veterans in our region who have sacrificed so much for our country. A big cloud has been removed, as the VA will continue to provide essential services at all four of these facilities."
One recent VA proposal was to move some inpatient care from Bedford to Brockton.
Bedford's inpatient care includes 21 acute psychiatric care beds, 92 mental health beds and 50 substance abuse treatment beds, according to VA figures. With more than 500 beds overall, Bedford boasts one of the nation's premier Alzheimer's disease treatment centers.
VA officials also considered merging the services at Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury into a single facility.
Peake said the VA's three-year review found no convincing evidence that its proposals "would significantly improve quality of care, access, or achieve significant financial savings at this time."
The VA left open the possibility of finding new uses for vacant land and buildings at the four Boston-area facilities, possibly for housing for homeless veterans, assisted living facilities, geriatric continuing care communities and affordable housing for veterans.
At public meetings in recent years, veterans and their supporters had complained that the VA's proposals to consolidate services and possibly even close some facilities would make it harder for many veterans to receive the care they needed.
The VA launched its national restructuring program in 2002. A previous proposal to close all four Boston hospitals and create a single medical center for the metropolitan area was rejected by the VA in July 2006 after the Massachusetts congressional delegation's strong opposition.
