Ever since the day World War II ended 80 years ago, soldiers returning to Hudson County have had to go to a Veterans Administration hospital in East Orange to get officially-sanctioned healthcare. For disabled or aging veterans, this was a hardship. Over the last year, reports that VA hospitals throughout the nation had become unresponsive to the needs of veterans made the need for a better system even more obvious.
While the VA says it has recently done much to rectify these issues, for Hudson County veterans, the trip to VA Hospital in East Orange still imposed a significant burden.
So the announcement on Feb. 19 at Veterans of Foreign Wars Samuel R. Shelton Post 2294 on Oak Street in Jersey City was welcome news.
To make things more convenient for veterans in Hudson and Passaic counties, CarePoint Health – which owns and operates Christ Hospital in Jersey City, Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center – has partnered with the VA to provide more efficient care for veterans and active-duty service members and their families.
Many of the veterans of Shelton Post are from the Korean and Vietnam era conflicts, and many use veterans’ health services. Veteran services are free, but you have to schedule appointments through the VA offices in Hudson County.
“This has been an issue for us,” said Post Commander Tony A. Goodson.
While there is a small clinic in Jersey City, it doesn’t provide even the basic services needed. So veterans used to have to go to East Orange for anything except an emergency.
“Being able to go to hospitals in Hudson County makes it a lot easier for our people,” Goodson said.
Three hospitals available closer to home
Under an agreement between CarePoint and the VA, local veterans, uniformed service members, and their families can arrange to go to any of CarePoint’s hospitals in Hudson County. “Providing access to quality healthcare in the communities where they live is a step in the right direction towards improving services for veterans, current members of the armed forces and their families,” said Mayor Steven Fulop, himself a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. “With this program, CarePoint will be making a huge impact in the lives of thousands of veterans and military families who have selflessly put our nation ahead of their own lives and well-being.”
Dennis Kelly, chief operating officer of CarePoint, said this program fits in with the hospital network’s mission to provide access to in-hospital and outpatient services.
“As a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, I know firsthand how important it is to receive the right healthcare when you need it.” – Jeffery Conord
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“I come from a military background,” he said. “My father was a chief petty officer for the navy. I know what it’s like for veterans and their families.”
His father died in service in 1965, but Kelly said for eight years of his early life he lived on Navy and Marine bases, so he has a good understanding of the needs of veterans and military personnel, and that the services offered at CarePoint fully comply with the Veteran’s Tricare agreements.
Tricare is a system that covers veterans from the various branches of military. Prior to about 2001, each service had its own veterans program.
“Our goal is to redefine community health care, and improve the quality of primary and specialty care,” Kelly said.
“There are 40,000 veterans in Hudson County. There are 500,000 in the state of New Jersey. And I think what you’re seeing here is a model for the 21st century on healthcare for veterans, how it’s going to be delivered,” Fulop said. “CarePoint is simply providing this service first.”
A former soldier’s idea
The idea actually came from Jeffery Conord, business development manager for CarePoint, who served six years in the 82nd Airborne paratrooper unit in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom where he worked as a military health professional.
He said he realized early on that there was “an obvious disconnect” between veterans and veterans’ services and witnessed many of the issues veterans face returning home.
“I saw the disconnect and lack of response and I wanted to do something,” he said.
His opportunity came when he joined CarePoint about eight months ago, and convinced management that it would be beneficial to veterans for the hospitals to become points of service.
He said while VA care has improved, the distance to VA hospitals is still a problem for some veterans.
“As a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, I know firsthand how important it is to receive the right healthcare when you need it,” he said.
CarePoint Health is Hudson County’s authorized healthcare system for Patient-Centered Community Care (PCCC), a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs program that provides eligible veterans and retired and active-duty service members and their families access to specialty care through community based, non-VA medical professionals.
The program allows participants to explore “out of network” options and receive medical care that is timely and close to home. Participants who are currently enrolled in the VA healthcare system are eligible.
Veterans interested in choosing CarePoint Health as their PCCC provider should contact their nearest VA office. TRICARE beneficiaries should contact their primary care physicians to discuss utilizing CarePoint Health for specialty care appointments.
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