Veterans will be able to get routine medical services at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., through a new partnership between the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs that gives former service members access to outpatient care at the military base hospital there. (David Kidd/U.S. Army)
WASHINGTON — Thousands of veterans soon will be able to receive routine medical services at Joint Base Langley-Eustis through a new partnership that gives former service members access to care at the military base in Virginia, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday.
Services will include treatment for minor and chronic illnesses, mental health counseling, specialty women’s health care and diagnostic lab tests. Veterans also will be able to make appointments for dental care at a separate clinic on the base, the VA said.
The clinic opened to some veterans May 9 and will be fully available to veterans by the end of May, according to Marion Pierce, a VA spokeswoman.
Virginia has one of the fastest-growing veteran populations in the nation, according to the VA, and there often are delays for appointments at VA hospitals and clinics in the state that vary depending on the site.
The Hampton VA Medical Center has a 45-day wait to see a doctor, and the Portsmouth VA Clinic has a wait of two months, according to an online VA site that tracks waits at VA facilities across the nation.
Up to 10,000 veterans are expected to obtain health care at the base each year, the VA said. The clinic will primarily offset delays patients are experiencing at Hampton VA Health Care System, which includes the Hampton VA Medical Center, less than 10 miles from the base.
“This sharing agreement [between the VA and the Defense Department] specifically allows the Hampton VA to leverage available space from U.S. Air Force Hospital Langley to make clinical services more easily accessible to local area veterans,” Pierce said.
But veterans in other parts of the state will be able to benefit as well. The VA will send veterans to non-VA doctors and dentists, when the same service is not readily available at VA clinics and hospitals.
Richard Barnhart, a 73-year-old Vietnam War veteran who lives in Mineral, Va., said it was a challenge for him recently to find dental care for an emergency tooth extraction. He said he would have made the two-hour drive from his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, if the services already were available to veterans.
“The dental clinic at the base probably would have gotten it done at my first visit or in a few days,” said Barnhart, who experienced a lot of pain from an infection.
Barnhart, a former sergeant who served in the Marines from 1969-1977, said he used a private dentist after waiting four months for a referral from the VA to see a non-VA provider. He had the tooth extraction on May 6.
The VA, which has an aging network of hospitals and clinics, has signed more than 175 agreements with military installations to supplement the care provided at VA hospitals and clinics.
The 633rd Medical Group, which has about 1,000 medical personnel, runs military health services at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, according to Arif Patani, a spokesman with the Defense Health Agency.
Barnhart said he previously traveled from his home to Maguire VA Medical Center in Richmond.
He said he stopped going to the Maguire VA because of the lack of security in and around the hospital campus, which has problems with crime. There also were delays for care.
“I wouldn’t even consider going down to Maguire,” Barnhart said.
The average age of a VA hospital is 60 years old, and many VA facilities are in need of costly upgrades to update and meet a growing demand by veterans for services.
More than 20,000 veterans across Virginia have enrolled in VA health care in the past year, a result of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act.
Adopted in 2022, the PACT Act enables veterans exposed to burn pits, herbicides and other toxins during military service to enroll in free and low-cost health care.
“Collaborations are critical at times like this,” Shereef Elnahal, the VA undersecretary for health, said in reference to the added pressure on the VA system for care.
Barnhart has been enrolled in VA health care for 40 years. He said he has been seeking referrals from the VA to see private doctors.
While seeing a private doctor still requires a long drive to Charlotte or Richmond from his home in Mineral, Barnhart said he has no plans to return to the Maguire VA facility.
“But I would head over to the base at Langley for my care,” he said.
