By MIKE CAPUTO
Pending a lease agreement between the Veterans Administration, the Nassau University Medical Center and the county, men and women who served in the armed forces expect to have a new health care clinic on the hospital's campus in East Meadow by the end of the year.
"If we have it here in East Meadow it would be wonderful," said VFW member Francis Narmoli. "It is very important because we are ailing and our legs are weakening. We hope to have it before we die."
A nearly decade-long struggle spearheaded by East Meadow VFW Post No. 2736, post Commander Sal Pellegrino and county Legislator Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) took a new turn when Gonsalves helped secure $3 million in funding for the project. The money came from settlements with tobacco companies, a funding source intended for county capital projects.
It took a "constant battle" to get to this point, Gonsalves said, but she and the East Meadow VFW members forged on. "I didn't do anything in those wars," Gonsalves said, "but I have to tell you something: They did, and they made my life better, so I couldn't walk away from it."
The veterans community clinic would be moved to NUMC from its current location in Plainview. Supporters of the project agreed that the Plainview clinic is deteriorating. Without major renovations, it would most likely have to close by next winter, Gonsalves said. That would force veterans to take care of all their needs at the parent facility, the main V.A. hospital in Northport.
"Plainview is old and needs a lot of work," Gonsalves said. "The county would have to pay for it. So now we were able to secure the money to have it here, where it is centrally located and a lot easier for the veterans to come to rather than making the long trip to Northport."
The new facility would have offices and a clinic for Nassau County veterans. It would double the amount of space in the Plainview clinic, from 5,000 square feet to 11,000 square feet. It would be less than a mile from the Meadowbrook Parkway, and offer more public transportation options than the Plainview facility, officials said.
VFW member Bob Herrman expressed relief that he might only have to travel within his own neighborhood rather than making the trip to Northport. "It would be great because of the travel alone," Herrman said. "It's a long ride out there."
Although the NUMC would host the clinic, the V.A. would be responsible for its operations. The clinic would occupy space in Building Q, which is now used for a variety of operations. According to Paul Rowland, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Nassau Health Care Corporation, an area on the first floor is being prepared for construction. Rowland said that the clinic would have its own entrance, and there is a plan to make additional parking available for veterans.
"The veterans are a very important group for us to be able to service," Rowland said.
The Plainview clinic opened in 1996, and was later moved to another building a few blocks away. Its purpose was to provide veterans with a local option for primary and mental health care needs.
"We have been working with Nassau County since the mid-'90s on a clinic for county veterans and have enjoyed great success with that partnership," said Joe Sledge, a spokesman for the Northport V.A. "We look forward to continuing with this clinic's operations."
Comments about this story? MCaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
