CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — US. Senator Sherrod Brown joined current employees of the Chillicothe Veterans Affairs Medical Center (CVAMC) at a roundtable to discuss their concerns and his efforts to keep the facility open. Following a Department of Veterans Affairs’ recommendation last month to close the CVAMC, Brown met with and raised his concerns to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough that the closure places a hardship on thousands of Ohio veterans.
Last week, Senator Brown was in Chillicothe and met with veterans to hear their concerns about the possible closure.
“This is a multiyear process, and these recommendations are just the first step in that process,” said Brown at the roundtable. “That’s why we immediately took action when these recommendations came out, and why we’re working with the community, fighting to keep the Chillicothe VA open and to save your jobs. We are going to make sure VA knows what the facility means to veterans and their families, and what it means to the hardworking VA employees and the entire community.”
Approximately 1,400 employees work at the CVAMC, which serves an estimated 20,000 veterans annually.
“As a veteran, I think it’s paramount to serve my fellow veterans. Taking the Chillicothe VA Medical Center away would be a disservice to all veterans in southern Ohio,” Mike Menendez, Fire Fighter at CVAMC and Veteran.
During a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing last month, Brown raised his concerns about Secretary McDonough’s recommendations to the Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission to close down the CVAMC.
