American Legion plans Baltimore-area meeting and crisis center for veterans

July 22, 2014

American Legion plans Baltimore-area meeting and crisis center for veterans

Representatives of America’s largest organization of wartime veterans will arrive in Baltimore on July 28 to conduct a town hall meeting for veterans to discuss the quality of health care they are receiving at the city’s Department of Veterans Affairs medical center.

American Legion staff and volunteers, along with staff from the Veterans Health Administration, will also set up a local Veterans Crisis Command Center to assist veterans and family members affected by long wait-times for VA medical care, and for benefits claims processing.
A recent VA audit of access to health care showed more than 55,000 medical appointments scheduled at the VA Baltimore Healthcare System. Of those, about 6,500 were set more than 30 days ago, with nearly 2,000 of them scheduled 61-90 days ago.

The town hall meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 28, at American Legion Post 109 on 1610 Sulphur Spring Rd. in Arbutus, Md.
The crisis center will also be located at Post 109, and will be open at the following times: Tuesday, July 29, noon to 8 p.m.; Wednesday, July 30, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday, July 31, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Friday, Aug. 1, 8 a.m. to noon.

Since June, The American Legion has operated crisis centers for veterans in several cities affected by the VA wait-time scandal, which caused delayed medical care for many veterans across the country.

The Legion, VA and other organizations have helped thousands of veterans at week-long crisis centers in Phoenix, Fayetteville, El Paso, St. Louis and Fort Collins, Colo.


 

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