Battle Creek VA Medical Center safe from closure, but modernization needed

BEDFORD CHARTER TWP. —The Battle Creek Veterans Affairs Medical Center, first opened in 1924, appears safe from closure after briefly appearing on the chopping block in a controversial plan that would have closed 35 VA Medical Centers in 21 states.

"Locally here, we continue to focus on the needs of veterans and how we serve veterans and get them the care that they need, where they need it and how they want it," said Brian Pegouske, public affairs officer for the Battle Creek VAMC. "That will continue going forward."

In March, the Department of Veterans Affairs recommended to the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission that impatient and outpatient services should move from the Battle Creek VAMC to the Grand Rapids/Wyoming area.

The closure of the center, on 206 acres in Bedford Charter Township, would have been part of a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that would include the replacement of 18 VA medical centers, construction of 13 new facilities and the closure of 17 major hospitals.

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The VA's plan stemmed from the 2018 Mission Act, which required the department to reassess its physical footprint and deliver recommendations to a new commission.

In late June, a bipartisan group of a dozen U.S. senators — particularly those in states facing VA Medical Center closures — opposed the AIR Commission process, saying its recommendations would be especially bad for veterans who lived in rural areas.

Members of the House of Representatives then voted to defund the commission, effectively killing the process.

While the scrapping of the commission means the Battle Creek VAMC is safe from closure for the time being, it brought to light some of the challenges to health care in the aging campus, with its buildings built between 1931 and 1960.

Battle Creek VAMC is located at 5500 Armstrong Road, adjacent to Fort Custer. It offers inpatient medical, inpatient mental health, medical rehabilitation, and outpatient services, serving some 44,000 veterans across 22 counties. It is also the fourth-largest employer in the Battle Creek area with some 1,600 workers, though a number of them work at outpatient clinics elsewhere.

The Battle Creek VAMC hospital has 276 beds, including 55 mental health beds, 109 community living center beds and 101 rehabilitation treatment beds. In 2021, 33% of visits were remote via telehealth.

"One lesson we learned quickly with COVID was we could do many more things on a virtual basis," Pegouske said. "People adapted quickly, our providers and veterans. You don't have to come from quite a long distance, you can get some of that care in your home. With mental health, many veterans have become comfortable with telehealth."

In March, the VA found the Battle Creek facility doesn’t meet standards for modern health care, reporting maintenance, architectural and engineering challenges. The Battle Creek VAMC is not unique among VA medical facilities, with more than 6,300 averaging 60 years old.

"There are obviously some things within the structure of providing modern health care that are more difficult when you are retrofitting into a building," Pegouske said. "You can adapt and move projects forward a lot quicker in a newer setting."

The Battle Creek VAMC is currently modernizing with various projects, including updates to its urgent care center, a road improvement project and a recent expansion of its pharmacy waiting room.

"Our team really does a great job of looking each day at the veterans' needs and trying to improve the veteran experience," Pegouske said. "Part of our whole health mentality is putting veterans at the center of care. When we look at things like infrastructure, we want to continue to put veterans at the center of care."

Contact reporter Nick Buckley at nbuckley@battlecreekenquirer.com or 269-966-0652. Follow him on Twitter:@NickJBuckley

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Battle Creek VA Medical Center safe from potential closure