U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) were among the dignitaries at a May 29 ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Georgetown community-based Veterans’ Outpatient Clinics, along with representatives from the state’s Department of Veteran’s Affairs and Georgetown Mayor Edwin Lambden.
According to Michael S. Rybicki, manager for the clinical support service at the state’s community-based outpatient clinics, the new Georgetown clinic replaces two in Millsboro and Seaford that were previously operated by the Nanticoke Healthcare system under contract with the Wilmington VA Medical Center. Those clinics not only saw veterans but also saw private-pay patients as well — something that proved too much for the locations, with the steady influx of new patients.
“Unfortunately, both the clinics could not absorb additional growth of veteran patients, and we had a waiting list of patients wishing to be treated in Sussex County. The Wilmington VA Medical Center made a decision to move forward with establishing a VA-staffed clinic in Sussex County,” explained Rybicki.
After stakeholders, the state’s congressional delegation and area service organizations were consulted, they decided that Georgetown, with its central location, would be the ideal location for a Sussex County veterans’ clinic. A second, similar facility will celebrate its ribbon-cutting ceremony in Dover next month.
Charles “Chuck” Dorman, the acting center director, said that they look forward to taking the new clinic from good to great for “our most deserving citizens.” He noted that they are actually a bit ahead of schedule and looking forward to providing quality health care for Sussex County veterans closer to home.
“We need your business, we want your business, and we’ll work hard to keep your business,” said Dorman.
Castle spoke to the fact that it has been a long road to get the Georgetown and Dover clinics opened and to the exceptional care Delaware has to offer its most respected citizens.
“It’s extraordinary. Now, they can receive their basic care here, which will lead to preventive care and a much higher quality of life. I have a hunch, and maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I am going to say it anyway, that Delaware has the best veteran care in the United States,’ he said to a round of applause from those assembled for the ribbon-cutting.
“A lot of you said we need to get this done, and our hats are off to you in realizing that the veterans that protect us will be protected,” Castle concluded.
Carper, himself a Vietnam War veteran, thanked veterans for their continued service and spoke of how Delaware’s veterans’ care has improved dramatically in the recent decades.
“We often say to veterans, ‘When you come home, we won’t forget you.’ This is a memorial to them. Not a piece of paper or a plaque — but real, genuine down-to-earth help,” said Carper.
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. They will soon add podiatry and optometry services, as well.
Rybicki thanked the many individuals and organizations that had a hand in making the opening a reality, including Delaware State Veterans Commission, Carper’s office; Sen. Joseph Biden’s office; Castle’s office; their landlord, Continental Court LLC; Georgetown Plaza’s merchants; their contractor, Lighthouse Constructions LLC; American Legion/American Legion Auxiliary, Department of Delaware, Unit #28, America Legion Auxiliary, Millsboro; and the Korean War Veterans of America (KWVA), Delaware Chapter 1 Veterans of Foreign Auxiliary Wars.
He added that Delaware now has a VA hospital in New Castle County, a community-based outpatient center in both Kent and Sussex counties, a soldier’s home in Milford and two veterans’ cemeteries.
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.