Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center hosts informative town hall meeting for veterans

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — The Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg hosted one of its annual town hall meetings Thursday evening as part of the Veterans Affairs summer event series.

This is just one of five town halls that will be held around the state as part of the series. Medical center representatives said that it’s important to hear the veteran’s feedback so that they can know what they are doing well while they continue to build on those services and learn what they could be lacking.

“We don’t know what the veterans need if they don’t tell us. And the veterans don’t know what we have if we don’t tell them. And so, again that is us inviting representatives from the Veteran’s Benefits Administration and the National Cemetery Administration,” VA Public Affairs Specialist Sean McGinty said.

McGinty added that during the town hall meeting, there were representatives from vocational rehab with the veteran’s benefits administration who spoke on employment opportunities in addition to benefit payments and service-connected disability payments. Much of the meeting focused on the VA Medical Center’s Medical Foster Home Program, PACT Act Healthcare Eligibility and an open forum between agency representatives and the veterans.

“By bridging the gap and bringing veterans in here and then bringing the right representatives in we’re going to boost those numbers up, and we’re going to make sure that veterans are taking advantage of the benefits that they earned,” McGinty said.

On Thursday, July 18, the medical center will host its women’s veteran town hall meeting at 5 p.m. On Thursday, August 8, there will be a town hall meeting held at Morgantown Vet Center in Westover.

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