Months of work led to the official ribbon cutting for a new telehealth clinic that is a partnership between Bucks County and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
On Friday at the Lower Bucks County Government Services Center at 7321 New Falls Road in Bristol Township’s Levittown section, the county Commissioners, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, Bucks County Military and Veterans Affairs Director Daniel Fraley came together with Daniel Hendee, the director of the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, to open the clinic.
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The new facility will be operational Wednesday and Fridays. It will allow local veterans to remain close to home for routine check-ups and to receive health care consultations.
More in-depth appointments will still have to handled at regional VA facilities.
When the facility was announced last year, officials said the clinic will be open to all Bucks County veterans, saving them the trip to VA health centers that are out of the county.
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“Think about the military today, the technology, and how different it is today, the wars and how they are fought. And yet here we are today being able to use that same technology to benefit the men and women who served our country,” Commissioner Chairman Robert Loughery. “I argue that you will probably find no other county, certainly in the commonwealth, maybe in the country, that’s as committed to working with their veterans as Bucks County.”
The clinic will run on technology that is similar to video connections used by Skype and Apple’s Facetime. The patients will interface with a The VA is covering the cost of the equipment and provide a technician for the clinics.
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“The future is now, and it is right here in Levittown,” Hendee said.
The clinic started operations June 1 and already had a list of patients ready to use the facility.
Credit: Vickie Tasher
“I know nationally the VA gets a bad rap, but here locally, [Fraley] has had a wonderful relationship with the local VA office, and we appreciate all the things that they have done to be helpful with our veterans,” Commissioner Charley Martin said.
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The county first announced the intention to create the clinic late last summer.
Appointments are required and can be made by calling 215-823-5800 ext. 7415 or 267-372-1899.
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