Melba West (center) and receptionists Ceil Gerwitz (l-r) and Rosemarie Ramondo staff the front desk at the Tinton Falls Community Based Outpatient Clinic operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff I t was important to John Griffith that the clinic that served area veterans at Fort Monmouth remain local once the fort closed.
That is why Griffith, the acting chief of the Tinton Falls Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System, was so pleased when the clinic opened at a new location in the borough in July.
Griffith said in an interview that the clinic, which is located at 55 Gilbert St. North, is accessible and in a location that veterans helped select.
“We actually had veterans on our selection panel that went out and looked at sites and told us that this would be a good location,” Griffith said. “We had to take a look at public transportation to make sure the clinic we would open would have ample public transportation.”
West and Dr. John Musico have a discussion in one of the examination rooms at the clinic, which relocated from Fort Monmouth. The selection team looked at buildings in Long Branch, Red Bank and Middletown before settling on the Tinton Falls location.
The Tinton Falls Community Based Outpatient Clinic officially opened on July 5 after Patterson Army Health Clinic, located on the fort, closed in June.
The Patterson Clinic had been serving U.S. Army personnel and veterans since it opened at Fort Monmouth as Patterson Army Hospital in 1958.
According to Griffith, efforts to keep the clinic on the base were unsuccessful, and the process of securing a location for the clinic was a lengthy one that included the provision that the facility remain in the same congressional district, the 12th District.
He added that the process of applying to Congress for the funding for the clinic to be moved from the fort to the location off base was also an involved one.
Griffith said the clinic’s reception from veterans has been positive.
“It’s been well received as far as the veterans are concerned,” he said. “One of the things that they like about this clinic is that it is not on the military installation and that it is actually out in the community.
“They don’t have to stop at the gate and show their IDs; they don’t have to be checked in and things of that nature,” he added. “I think they are liking it because of the accessibility.”
Griffith said that the new clinic has more of a modern feel than the clinic on the fort.
“Obviously being on Fort Monmouth was a blessing for us because a lot of veterans liked the idea of being in that environment,” he said. “It wasn’t exactly the most pristine environment; we kept the place clean and well maintained.
“This new clinic that we have is in a very nice building. We were able to put some more [decorative] touches, which is more patient friendly,” he added. “We actually [relocated] it to a more modern setting that we think our veterans deserve.”
The clinic, which serves about 100 veterans a day, is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Griffith said hours may be extended on one of the days.
Primary care is the main focus of the clinic, Griffith said, and also under consideration are expanding mental health and other services such as women’s health, telehealth and other specialty services. Clinic services currently include nutrition, social work, optometry and laboratory work.
The staff of the 6,700-squarefoot clinic includes two physicians, two registered nurses, one nurse practitioner, two licensed practical nurses, one health technician and part-time dietitian, a psychiatrist and a social worker.
Griffith said that the increased space is an asset because the U.S. Department ofVeteransAffairs is always interested in expanded services.
“It was not just a matter of comfort. The VAhas multiple initiatives that we are rolling out each year,” he said. “Right now we are rolling out telehealth, so we … asked for additional space.”
All veterans eligible for health care can be served at the clinic regardless of where they live. “If you are a veteran enrolled anywhere throughout the nation, you can come to the clinic,” Griffith said. “Say you are a veteran from Florida and up here visiting family, you can come to the clinic as long as we can verify that you are a veteran eligible for care.”
Griffith said that the clinic does take walk-ins, but it is preferable that veterans make an appointment.
He also said that the clinic is not suited for emergency care and that in those situations, veterans would be better served at a hospital.
However, Griffith said overall it is beneficial that the clinic remains in the area.
“I just think it is a benefit to our veterans’ population that we were able to keep it this close and we were able to give them an excellent building and space to get their care,” he said.
The Department of Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System is a consolidated facility comprising two main campuses, one in East Orange and the other in Lyons; a satellite outpatient clinic in Brick; and nine access points located in Elizabeth, Hackensack, Hamilton, Jersey City, Morristown, Newark, Paterson, Piscataway and Tinton Falls.
During FY 2010, 59,396 veterans received health care services, including 612,108 outpatient visits and 4,750 inpatients treated.
The Tinton Falls Community Based Outpatient Clinic can be reached at 732-842-4751.