Veterans rally with Rep. Pat Ryan to reopen VA unit for vets with addiction and mental health issues
District 18 Rep. Pat Ryan, an Iraq War veteran, said he is working his grievance up the bureaucratic chain at the VA, demanding the acute care unit at Castle Point reopen.
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Local veterans rallied alongside Rep. Pat Ryan Tuesday, trying to pressure the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to reopen a local unit that served the most vulnerable local veterans.
Gulf War veteran Keith Thompson told the crowd at the Beacon VFW post he would not be there Tuesday, if not for the specialized car he received at the Castle Point VA's acute care unit.
"It saved my life," he said.
The unit served veterans with severe mental health and addiction struggles.
The 20-bed clinic was suddenly closed Feb. 1.
VA officials said the unit will be closed for at least 120 days while the VA reevaluates staffing levels.
Veterans are now being referred to other VAs and private clinics much further away.
"People don't know how important this is," Thompson said. "There are a lot of homeless veterans out there and there will probably be a lot more if they don't have anywhere to go."
District 18 Rep. Pat Ryan, an Iraq War veteran, Pat Ryan said he is working his grievance up the bureaucratic chain at the VA, demanding the acute care unit at Castle Point reopen.
He wrote to VA regional director Joan McInerney, saying "These heroes fulfilled their oath. I will not tolerate you not fulfilling yours."
"We're going to escalate as needed," Ryan said after the rally, "and we have a really good outpouring of support that we saw today. We're going to continue to push."
Ryan urged the approximately 50 people in the room to keep putting pressure on the higher-ups at the VA over the acute care unit.
He fears that if they stay silent, more local VA services would be subtracted until the whole system is privatized.
Newburgh VFW post leader Andy Finnegan said the acute care unit's staff saved his life, too.
He is positive lives will be lost if the unit closes permanently.
"The VA is a culture that cares for vets," he said, "and to outsource it doesn't help anybody."
Ryan said communication with VA officials about the acute care center's future has not gone well, and he will continue escalating.
He said his next steps are to appeal to the new Veterans Affairs secretary and ultimately to President Donald Trump's administration.
David Marshall, spokesperson for the regional VA director, declined to answer questions based on concerns brought up during Tuesday's rally.
"Nothing further is being released on the topic at this time," he wrote in an email late Tuesday afternoon.
Marshall previously told News 12 the acute care unit's closure will not affect other primary and outpatient care for veterans at Castle Point, and has not answered specific questions about the future of the acute care unit.
