About 100 folks braved the light rain on Saturday, December 6th at 12 Noon on the front lawn of the former Emory-Advent Hospital. The Purpose of the Rally was to convince local governments of the importance of using the site as a VA Hospital clinic. When the hospital closed on 31 October, the opportunity presented itself for the VA to place its new medical facility in the closed hospital building.
Estimates vary, but somewhere between 6 – 10% of all Veterans in Georgia live in Cobb County. The current VA medical facility in Austell is too small to handle the case load. Placing the new facility in Smyrna makes sense in terms of accessibility for all Veterans in the metro Atlanta and north Georgia areas. The closed hospital site is on State Highway 280 and enjoys convenient access from I-75, I-285 and even I-20. It is in closer proximity to the Atlanta Airport that the VA Hospital in Decatur. The Smyrna site will make it easy and convenient for Veterans to find and use the facility.
There is also an expected positive economic impact from placing the VA medical facility in Smyrna. It will bring jobs and doctors to the area. There will be a need for local companies to supply goods and services. Veterans and their families will spend money while in Smyrna.
Our Senator Johnny Isakson and Congressman David Scott both support the idea. So does District Commissioner Bob Ott. Note, Senator Isakson is set to take over the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in January when the new Congress begins its term. Council members Andrea Blustein and Susan Wilkinson strongly support the move. The remainder of the elected officials seem unsure about or opposed to the idea
We had a good turnout at our second rally on January 10, 2015. This time there was no rain but it was cold. Citizens and veterans support this cause. WSB-TV, Channel 2 Action News, covered the rally and showed the broadcast at 6PM and 11PM both Saturday and Sunday. Hal Reeves, our Post Adjutant, stated that about 50,000 veterans live in Cobb County - more than any other county. Don't have to travel to Decatur to take advantage of VA Benefits. Congress has budgeted $6 Million dollars to move the too small clinic in Austell to North Cobb.
This was a fully functional hospital when it closed in October. It is ready to go now - not years from now. Congress is finalizing budgets in February. Veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, and the War on Terrorism were all here to support the move of the VA clinic in Austell here to the old Emory-Adventist Hospital location in Smyrna. American Legion Posts, VFW Posts, Disabled American Vets and the Ladies Auxiliary were all in attendance
