Dayton VA center not endangered in national reorganization

The Dayton VA Medical Center was never in danger of being closed and, in fact, may emerge busier from a national reassessment of the VA’s real estate footprint. “I think, just from a recommendation standpoint, it’s a vote of confidence that our services are aligned correctly,” Mark Murdock, executive director of the Dayton VA Medical Center, said Friday.

In a sweeping overview of facilities, the VA this month proposed beefing up some Dayton VA services, including its community living center, residential rehabilitation program and inpatient mental health services.

Right now, there’s no discernible impact to the VA’s Springfield clinic, Murdock said. A new clinic in Sidney would be built, according to VA recommendations.

Murdock could not say how many new staff members will work at the Dayton center, but he does expect additional jobs, if the recommendations are adopted.

All of those areas require hands-on employees taking care of Veterans,” he said.

Asked if he expects any local services to shrink, he said: “Not at the present time, no. That’s not indicated in the report.”

VA leaders recommended closing three of the VA’s 171 medical centers nationwide, including one in Chillicothe, Ohio. Services provided at those sites would be shifted elsewhere, including some to Dayton, the department proposed.

With a history that stretches back to the Civil War, the main Dayton Medical Center was built in 1991 on 207 acres, and that building has not undergone a major renovation, the VA noted. The center’s “facility condition assessment” deficiencies are put at about $106.8 million, with annual operations and maintenance costs at an estimated $14.3 million, the VA report said.

“We’re the third oldest VA in the country,” Murdock said. “But our team has done a tremendous job as far as maintaining and enhancing the infrastructure.”

The report points to what it says are 17 acres of undeveloped Dayton center property that will accommodate construction of treatment beds to absorb demand from the Fort Thomas, Ky residential rehabilitation program, which is proposed for closure.

The report also recommends strengthening the Dayton center’s ties to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center.

The educational mission with Wright State University and other community hospitals probably helped the Dayton center as VA leaders prioritized services, Murdock said.

“The strategy for the Western Ohio Market to combine with the Central Ohio Market is intended to deliver a full continuum of care as well as provide Veterans with access to high-quality and conveniently located care in modern infrastructure,” the VA report said.

The report also noted: “The Dayton VAMC is located an estimated 90 minutes from the Chillicothe VAMC. "

Gov. Mike DeWine has expressed concern about that aspect of the recommendations.

“You know, you can have great service, but if it’s a long, long ways away, it doesn’t work very well,” DeWine told Cincinnati TV station WCPO this month.

VA leaders recommended the closures as part of a government-mandated review of the department’s real estate presence across the nation.

The recommendations set up a probable fight for those sites by members of congress and advocates in affected areas. An “Asset and Infrastructure Review” (AIR) commission will have a year to review the recommendations.

The VA’s “market recommendation” for the national region that includes Ohio (along with Pennsylvania, West Virginia and several East Coast states) recommends investing in outpatient sites in Pittsburgh and Steubenville, Ohio.

The report in general says it would establish or provide “new points of care” that would improve access to primary care, mental health treatment and different kinds of specialty care — 80 new facilities in all, if the recommendations are adopted.

“VA came to these recommendations by asking ourselves one question above all else: what’s best for the Veterans we serve,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said March 14.