Legion town hall meeting set for San Juan

The American Legion is inviting veterans in Puerto Rico to attend an April 6 town hall meeting in San Juan to comment on the quality of health care they are receiving from Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities on the island.

The meeting is set for 7 p.m., April 6, at the district office of U.S. Rep. Pedro Pierluisi (D-Puerto Rico) at Avenida Juan Ponce De León (157 Ave. de la Constitución), Second Floor, Antiguo Edificio de Medicina Tropical, Salón de los Comisionados in San Juan.

Verna Jones, The American Legion’s executive director in Washington, will facilitate the meeting. During the week, staff from the Legion’s Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Division will visit three medical facilities in the VA Caribbean Health Care System: the main medical center in San Juan and two outpatient clinics in Ponce and Mayaguez.

The American Legion’s national commander, Michael D. Helm, paid a visit to the Mayaguez facility last January. “Commander Helm was concerned about the staff shortages at that location,” Jones said. “He also heard from many Legionnaires in Puerto Rico who shared their concerns with him about medical care at the VA hospital in San Juan.”

Jones said the town hall meeting will give veterans a public forum to discuss their experience with access, quality and management at VA facilities on the island.

“This trip is a continuation of what The American Legion has been doing for the last 12 years,” Jones said. “Evaluating the quality of VA medical facilities and addressing the concerns of their patients.”