Another VA clinic delay
Published 8:57 am Tuesday, December 16, 2014
The long-awaited permanent Veterans Affairs clinics in Lake Charles and Lafayette have experienced yet another setback as VA officials announced Monday night that the projects will be completed in 2016 — a year later than expected after congressional approval.
Officials with the Alexandria VA told local veterans that construction of the Lake Charles clinic will be completed April 30, 2016, and that the first patient will not be served until June 2016. VA officials had said previously that the clinic would be operating by the summer of 2015.
“We’ll all be dead by then,” one veteran said as he left the American Legion Post 1, where the community meeting was held. Another veteran voiced, “You all better say your prayers.”
The Lafayette clinic is also behind its anticipated schedule, with construction now expected to be done by Aug. 31, 2016 and the first patient being served in October.
The change extends a timeline the VA set in August to award leases and complete the construction of VA clinics in Lake Charles and Lafayette. Legislation authorizing
the two clinics was passed through Congress and signed into law earlier this year.
Lynn Rogers, facilities strategic planner with the Alexandria VA, said the extra year is being added because bidders said it wasn’t a “feasible time frame.” Officials with the Alexandria VA confirmed with the American Press they knew of the timeline change Sept. 25.
However, James Jackson, American Legion Post 1 Commander, alleged that the Alexandria VA made a mistake by trying to use a Request For Proposal from 2012. He said the proposal is old, and that a new RFP should have been released three months ago, but wasn’t.
“These people don’t tell the veterans the truth, and it’s a giant irritant to me,” he said. “They are lying. The veterans lose because these people don’t do their damn job.”
A spokesman for Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, said Monday night he was not made aware of the date changes.
“Just when South Louisiana’s veterans are given a chance for optimism, the VA goes back on its word again,” Boustany said in a prepared statement. “I am furious this agency would announce such a drastic delay in the construction timeline without consulting with Congress or with local veterans. Our veterans were promised these facilities in a timely manner, and they have been counting on the VA to uphold its end of the bargain. If the VA thinks they can treat South Louisiana veterans like this and get away with it, they’re wrong.”
Boustany’s spokesman confirmed that the congressman will meet with Yolanda Jackson, executive director of the Alexandria VA, on Thursday in Alexandria and will demand a full explanation. Yolanda Jackson said the next step is to wait for the lease to be awarded.
The Lake Charles clinic, which is expected to treat 10,000 patients per year, will be a remodel. The Lafayette clinic will be built from the ground up.
Specific locations for the clinics have not been released.