This Monday, Sept. 15, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) visited the new Georgetown community-based Veterans’ Outpatient Clinics that opened this past June and met with patients, providers and staff.
Carper visited patients in the waiting room, talked with them about his career in the Navy and thanked them for their service. He also talked with nurse-practioners Mary Ledva and Deborah Bailey about day-to-day operations at the clinic. He met clerical staff and introduced himself to licensed social worker Shannon Bordley, nurses Crystal McGee, Eve Moretti and Leslie Calbert and new on-site optometrist Brooke Smith.
Carper was guided in his tour by Michael S. Rybicki, director of clinical support service at the state’s community-based outpatient clinics, and Saino M. Henries, nurse manager for all outpatient clinics. Rybicki said the Georgetown clinic is growing and they are currently recruiting for more physicians.
“It’s been well-received,” he said. “We now have our on-site optometrist — which is new. We see an excess of 70 patients a day for phlebotomy, behavioral health, etc. We have two nurse practitioners, and are recruiting for a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a primary care physician and a podiatrist.”
Carper suggested maybe looking for someone about 10 years out from retirement after Rybicki mentioned that it has not been easy finding a physician for work in Sussex County. The podiatrist would be part-time and the psychiatrist and psychologist would be full-time with half their time split between the Dover and Georgetown clinics.
Both the Georgetown and Dover clinics include more than 8,000 square feet and have a capacity to treat more than 4,000 patients per year. They provide phlebotomy services, primary care, preventive health, patient education, smoking-cessation classes and behavioral health services. Dover has already seen more than 800 unique patients, and they continue to grow as well.
Carper finished out his tour of the facility in meeting with Smith and a couple she was seeing for eye care. After learning that they had been married 53 years, Carper asked the wife their secret.
“It’s too much trouble to get a divorce,” she said, gathering a laugh from everyone.
The Georgetown VA Outpatient Clinic is located at 15 Georgetown Plaza, at the intersection of Routes 113 and 9. For more information, call 1-800-461-8262, ext. 5251.