The historic Cape Coral Veterans Memorial Monument in South Cape on Cape Coral Parkway. The memorial was rededicated on Veterans Day in 2000 after the lights and fountain were added. FILE<\/p>\n
For any veteran in Southwest Florida needing inpatient medical treatment, a multi-hour ride is required to be treated at a VA hospital. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s why a group of local veterans have put together an advocacy group with a goal to bring a full-service veteran hospital to Cape Coral. <\/p>\n
The Cape Coral VA Clinic Expansion to a Full-Service Hospital Committee, chaired by Dr. Alan White, have been speaking with local politicians, community members, local veterans and veteran affairs for what they say is a crucial need.<\/p>\n
According to the most up-to-date numbers, there are more than 100,000 veterans in Southwest Florida, which includes Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades, and Hendry counties (60,000 in Lee). <\/p>\n
Currently, there are no veteran hospitals in the region that offer inpatient beds, emergency care, surgery, intensive care or inpatient mental health services. The closest VA inpatient facility is in Tampa. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of veterans down here, and many of them require medical care,\u201d said White, who is a veteran himself. \u201cThe clinic that\u2019s in Cape Coral that was built in 2010, they purchased 30 ares, and it\u2019s big enough to be expanded for a full-service hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, the Lee County VA Clinic only offers outpatient services. <\/p>\n
White said the veteran population is already bountiful in Southwest Florida, and is only on the rise.<\/p>\n
White said by talking to local veterans, many of them under 40 and veterans of wars post 9\/11, he discovered the lack of inpatient services locally.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have some serious PTSD issues, traumatic brain injury, things that are unique to VA hospitals,\u201d White said. \u201cThey are equipped to handle those kinds of inpatient services.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vice chairman of the committee, Col (Ret) Steve Epkins, is the former chairman of the Lee County Veterans Advisory Committee. White attended a commissioners meeting in early March where Epkins presented, and spoke about the need for a full-service VA hospital in Lee County. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe bulk of veterans throughout the five counties that make up Southwest Florida live in Lee, and most of them live in Cape Coral,\u201d White said. \u201cEven using community care facilities, the capacity to absorb veterans locally is very taxing, and very expensive. For veterans to get the quality care that they need, they needed to make that long drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to data provided by the committee, an estimated 40,000 to 60,000 veteran-episodes of care go unmet or deferred in the region every year. Data from Florida Gulf Coast University shows that during the busy season, there is an influx of roughly 20,000 more veterans in Southwest Florida. <\/p>\n
Committee officials state while outpatient and community care services matter, they cannot replace a hospital when veterans need admission, surgery, intensive care, or inpatient mental health treatment. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut our effort was to advocate,\u201d White said. \u201cTo make people aware about this, and then gain access for proper healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n
White said VA officials said there will be a baseline of three requirements to get a hospital in Southwest Florida: a market assessment, a feasibility study, and that the hospital aligns with the strategic priorities of the VA. <\/p>\n
White said the hospital already meets the strategic priorities, as it would provide better access, quality healthcare to veterans. <\/p>\n
The committee did its own market assessment using like and similar market assessments that were public using methodology that VA uses. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe put together a very comprehensive, strongly supported market assessment \u2014 not that it was 100% accurate \u2014 and it certainly wasn\u2019t validated by the VA, but we prepared that for discussion and for awareness purposes,\u201d White said. \u201cThen we did a feasibility study using the same criteria, open source information \u2014 information that was used to build the VA clinic back in 2010, and like and similar feasibility studies conducted by the VA.\u201d<\/p>\n
White even recalled talking to veterans who were around when the existing clinic was built back in 2010, who said it was marketed as a facility that could be expended in the future. <\/p>\n
The fact there is already a VA-owned structure in place with the space to fit a full-service hospital is a major bonus. <\/p>\n
White said looking into building a hospital from scratch, the best information the committee could find was that it would take roughly 15 years, and cost over $2 billion. With the existing facility already, it could take five to 12 years and at a lower cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re able to glean from our research is that they could build a 150- to 200-bed, seven to nine-story, full-service hospital on the clinic property,\u201d White said. \u201cWe demonstrated that it could be done, and it could be sky-walked, co-located, and have ample parking for veterans and even short-term housing or veterans that would need treatment after inpatient services.\u201d<\/p>\n
The committee is made up of White, Epkins, Wendy Del Salto, Marjo White, and Daniela Chavez Del Salto. <\/p>\n
There is also a veterans outreach subcommittee which is being headed by Annette Warren and Chuck Warren. <\/p>\n
White said the No. 1 thing the committee is looking for is to get people enrolled. <\/p>\n
\u201cEnrollment numbers are really going to drive this,\u201d White said. \u201cIf you\u2019re a veteran, enroll with the VA healthcare system. It doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re going to use it, but they will use those numbers in the market assessment. Making sure your fellow veterans get access to healthcare is doing your part and ensuring you\u2019re not taking anything away from them.\u201d<\/p>\n