Recent reports of VA hospitals’ substandard treatment of patients have prompted demands across the country for anyone to step in to help the veterans. Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center hopes to go above and beyond its call of duty with its proposed Veterans Outreach Center on Blue Hill Avenue in Boston.
“As a veteran myself, I have been deeply disturbed by the recent revelations of shortcomings at the VA hospitals,” said Charles Murphy, retired Marine captain and president and CEO of Harvard Street. “While I fully believe the VA is doing its best to correct these problems, our veterans need care today, and Harvard Street wants to be as helpful as possible.”
This fiscal year, Harvard Street has a stated goal of increasing by 40 percent the number of veterans participating in its behavioral health program, which offers treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among other concerns.
Massachusetts veterans are more likely to receive adequate health care than are veterans in other states. According to a WBUR interview last week with Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans’ Services Coleman Nee, community partnerships and MassHealth or other forms of private health insurance account for the majority of healthcare services for veterans in the Commonwealth.
