Community discusses future of VA hospital: 5 things to know

Downplaying the word closure and emphasizing the notion of realignment representatives from the Veterans Administration met with local leaders and community members Tuesday night to discuss the future of the VA hospital in Bonham.

One month ago, the Asset and Infrastructure Review release a list of facilities up for possible closure and listed Bonham's Veteran's Affairs Center as one of the sites on the chopping block.

The report says that the Bonham VAMC, which was built in 1948 and served about 1,969 veterans in 2019, should be closed and its patients routed to hospitals in the Metroplex. The Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center's website says it employed about 600 people in 2017 and utilized around 400 volunteers a year to serve local veterans.

More: Sam Rayburn MVC on VA list for possible closure

Here are five things to know about Tuesday's community meeting and the future of the VA facilities in Bonham.

1. Current recommendations

Executive Medical Center Director for VA North Texas Health Care System Dr. Stephen R. Holt said the recommendations that were recently released call for the five-star 130-bed nursing home at the VA facility and the domiciliary to be moved to Garland, but that doesn't mean that is necessarily going to happen.

The VA facility in Bonham currently includes an outpatient clinic which is not slated to move. In fact, the recommendations call for a new clinic to be built in Fannin County.

2. Anything that does happen, won't happen quickly

Holt said any changes that might eventually be made will not happen quickly because the VA plans to hold public meetings about the recommendations before they are submitted to Congress in April of next year.

Then, those Congress members will have to approve the plans and appropriate money to pay for the changes. Then those projects will have to be designed and built. He said it could be as long as ten years out for some of the changes to actually be made.

3. The recommendations are based on old numbers and do not take into account who actually uses the facilities in Bonham.

Holt said the assessment was based on 2017 data.

"Gee, looks like nothing has happened since 2017 has it? A lot has changed,"he said.

In 2013, the North Texas VA system served 103,000 patients using facilities and now it its 141,000.

"We did not predict that growth," he said and he added that those making the current recommendations didn't look at community impact.

Others on the panel also pointed out that the recommendations didn't take into account the tremendous growth that is going on in southern Grayson County and that will also be happening in southern Fannin County. Those changes, they said, will likely bring in even more veterans to the area.

The recommendations did not take into account that people come from all over the region to use the services at the domiciliary and the nursing home and that the rural nature of the surroundings for those programs is seen, by the users, as a plus.

4. Now is the time for the community to act to try to save the programs at Bonham.

The VA is the largest employer in Fannin County right now, Holt said. So it is up to that community to put together a plan to show those who will be making the decisions why it doesn't make sense to move the successful programs out of Bonham.

"You need to get your strategy together for those public hearings," he said. "Getting mad is not a strategy. You've got to have an argument that says why is Bonham a better choice than the other alternatives."

Community members need to write letters to their local leaders from their mayor to their county commissioners to their state representatives and senators to local congressional representatives and let them know how important the VA is in Fannin County. Holt said community members need to make sure that they find out when the public hearings will be held and plan to have designated people there to speak at them with strong reasons for keeping the facilities in Bonham.

5. Local leaders say they are up for the fight.

"Status quo or grow" was a phrase that Congressman Pat Fallon said should be the battle cry for this fight to save the facilities in Bonham. Fallon said he and his staff are ready and willing to work with locals to make that point to Congress.

State Representative Reggie Smith said his office is also ready to take calls, emails and letters from locals about their opinions on the recommendations. He reminded those in attendance that there was recently a proposal to change the hunting rules in Grayson and that a petition of local people who opposed those changes stopped them from being imposed.

Fannin County Judge Randy Moore said the county commissioners have discussed the proposed changes to the VA in Fannin County at every meeting since the proposals were announced and they will keep discussing them with local residents to help organize a plan to stop those changes from taking place.

Where to write local representatives:

Fannin County Judge Randy Moore

Fannin County Courthouse

101 E. Sam Rayburn Dr., Ste. 101

Bonham, Texas 75418

903-583-7455

Congressman Pat Fallon

6531 Horizon Road, Suite A

Rockwall, Texas 75032

Pat@Fallonforcongress.com

214-507-4861

State Representative Reggie Smith

300 N. Travis Street, Suite 3

Sherman, Texas, 75090

512-463-0297

Senator Bryan Hughes

110 N. College Ave., Ste. 207

Tyler, Texas 75702

512-463-0101

Senator Ted Cruz

127A Russell

Washington, DC 20510

202-224-5922

This article originally appeared on Herald Democrat: Community discusses future of VA hospital: 5 things to know