KINGSTON – Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, Congressman Antonio Delgado, Senator Michelle Hinchey, and local Veterans held a rally Sunday in response to the recent report by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that recommended the closing of the Castle Point VA Medical Center (VAMC) and a series of other reductions in local and regional healthcare services for veterans.
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, a West Point graduate, and combat veteran, and called for the preservation of a VA medical center level facility in the Hudson Valley along with adding essential services related to mental health, substance abuse recovery, burn pit and other toxic exposures, and more.
“Earlier this week, the VA recommended drastic cuts to critically-needed Veteran health services in the Hudson Valley, including closing the Castle Point VA Medical Center, which tens of thousands of veterans and military families rely on,” Ryan said. “This is unacceptable and we are rallying to push back on these recommendations and push for real investment in strengthening our regional VA services.”
Ulster County has over 11,000 veterans who currently access VA services at Albany Stratton Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) and Castle Point VAMC. Currently, the Ulster County Veteran Services Agency transports thousands of veterans annually to both of these locations. Veterans in Ulster County, depending on where they live, already travel up to an hour for these essential services.
“Closing the Castle Point VAMC without first clearly establishing a replacement facility that provides equally accessible services of the same or higher quality is unacceptable,” Rep. Delgado said.
Delgado’s opponent, Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro said While a brand new, state-of-the-art VA facility in Dutchess County is welcome, we need absolute assurance that there will be no reduction in services, and Castle Point will not close until the new facility is fully operational,” and added, “The Biden Administration’s decision to close Castle Point leaves too many open-ended questions that should have been addressed prior to this ham-handed announcement.”
“Our upstate communities suffer disproportionately from limited access to healthcare, and this federal proposal to remove the Hudson Valley’s closest in-patient VA facility would drive us further into a healthcare desert,” Senator Michelle Hinchey said. “Castle Point serves thousands of veterans and military families across the Hudson Valley, and it is unacceptable that our federal government would consider a plan to drastically reduce the critically-needed in-patient care they rely on close to home.”
The Veterans Administration realignment report calls for the closure of Castle Point VAMC and proposes downgrading to an outpatient clinic (CBOC) to serve the region, which would remove all inpatient services and close an existing fully-occupied senior living center (CLC). In addition, the VA’s report recommends that other local and regional hospitals could “absorb” the growing demand for inpatient and urgent care services in the Hudson Valley, which is concerning given recent divestments by WMC in mental health and addiction recovery services in Ulster County and compounding layoffs of over 40 senior staff members at end of 2021. The report will now undergo a one-year committee review with recommendations on the future of Castle Point and other VA hospitals and facilities ultimately being sent to the President and Congress.
