Jacksonville North VA Clinic and Domiciliary

David Isaacks, thanks for that kind introduction. Thank you also for your leadership of VISN 8, our largest health care network, and your service to our nation as a United States Marine.

Special thanks to Wende Dottor for your leadership here in North Florida/South Georgia.

Congressman Bean, thanks also for your remarks and support.

Major General James “Hammer” Hartsell, thank you for your advocacy on behalf of all of Florida’s Veterans, and for your service to the nation as a United States Marine.

Lastly, to all the other attendees—including staffers from Senator Rubio and

Representative Rutherford’s offices, everyone who has supported our efforts, and supported Veterans in North Florida and South Georgia—it’s great to have you here.

Opening this outpatient clinic and domiciliary is the result of hard work and cooperation by many people. So, to the team that worked tirelessly on these facilities—engineers, planners, safety, housekeeping, quality assurance, interior design staff, and many others—thank you all for bringing us to this day.

The North Florida/South Georgia Healthcare System sets a high bar. More Vets come through your doors for care each year than any other system in VA. Your academic partnerships, with the University of Florida and more than 200 other educational institutions, not only provide training and supervision but also generate important research. And your healthcare system has a complexity level of 1a, a ranking reserved for only those VHA facilities with the highest volume; highest risk patients; most complex clinical programs; and largest research and teaching programs. You are at the forefront of health care services, providing care for Veterans in rural areas, in cities, in 50 counties, and across state lines.

I am particularly impressed by this team’s work to increase access to care for Veterans between October and February as part of our Access Sprints initiative. The North Florida/South Georgia Healthcare System was just named the top performer among all VA health systems across the country in increasing access to mental health care and specialty care. Nationally, by using locally driven innovations, like offering night and weekend clinics, VA saw 11% more new patients that we did a year ago.

And here in North Florida/South Georgia, we saw 59% more new cardiology patients, cut cardiology wait times over 28 days by 6%, and lowered the number of Veterans waiting for cardiology care in the community by 56%. On mental health care, Veterans in this region received same-day VA care at an 11% higher rate and saw wait times over 20 days drop by 41%. Those accomplishments are because of the amazing VA team here keeping Vets at the heart of everything we do.

The President often says that our most sacred obligation is to prepare and equip the troops we send into harm’s way, and to care for them and their families when they return home. The second part of that sacred obligation is ours to fulfill at VA. And to me, doing that job well means delivering the most access and best outcomes for Vets because, ultimately, it’s Veterans who are the judges of our success. 

That’s why each decision we make, and every action we take, must be based on one principle—improving outcomes for Veterans, their families, their caregivers, and survivors. That’s what opening Jacksonville North is all about—improving outcomes for Veterans, increasing their access to the best care possible.

These facilities are simply amazing. They rival or exceed anything offered at any hospital system in the country, at VA or anywhere else. Jacksonville North VA Clinic will be able to provide primary care, mental health care, diagnostic services, prosthetics, physical therapy, occupational therapy, TBI services, and more, along with a 30-bed residential facility for general psycho-social programs. The Veterans who come here are getting the best of the best.

And we’re not closing the two Jacksonville outpatient clinics already here. We’re expanding them. In 2011, when we launched the Jefferson Street Clinic, over 29,000 Vets visited Jacksonville VA facilities for care that year. In 2023, twelve years

later, the Jacksonville clinics provided care to nearly 69,000 Vets.

Demand for access to care at VA facilities here is at an all-time high, and it’s going to get higher for the next decade and beyond. In Jacksonville, in Duval County, and throughout the entire state, the Vet population is exploding. Florida now boasts the third highest number of Veterans of any state in the country, a testament to the many benefits and services our nation’s heroes receive here in Florida. And VA is committed to providing Vets with the care they need, where they need it, and that’s right here in North Florida/South Georgia.

In the last year, we’ve welcomed 33,000 Florida Veterans as new health care enrollees. Of those, one-third enrolled specifically because of the PACT Act, President Biden’s toxic exposure law. And last month, we began making millions of Vets eligible for VA health care years earlier than called for by the PACT Act. Specifically, all Veterans who were exposed to toxins and other hazards while serving our country—at home or abroad—are now eligible to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits.

That includes all Vets who served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other combat zone after 9/11. It includes all Veterans who deployed in support of the Global War on Terror. And it includes Veterans who never deployed but were exposed to toxins or hazards while training or on active duty here at home—by working with chemicals, pesticides, lead, asbestos, certain paints, nuclear weapons, x-rays, and more.

We’re doing this because VA care is proven to be the best, most affordable health care in America for Veterans. We want as many Vets as possible, throughout Florida, and throughout the nation, to come to us for their care. So, if you think you might be eligible, don’t wait to enroll. Apply for the care you deserve at VA.Gov/PACT. 

In addition to accessing world class health care at VA, Veterans are also receiving record levels of earned benefits. In 2023, VA provided $11.5 billion in compensation and pension benefits to nearly 500,000 Florida Veterans. And so far, Florida Veterans have filed 140,000 PACT Act claims. From disability compensation payments to education benefits to employment assistance to housing support to burial benefits, we are providing more benefits to more Veterans than at any time in our nation’s history. And I have no doubt that Jacksonville North VA Clinic and Domiciliary will serve Veterans just as well as they’ve served our country.

Some of those Veterans are joining us here today. Let me tell you about one of those Vets, Martin Butler, who not only gets care at VA, but also gives back to fellow Veterans by working here, too. Martin served in the Navy, rising to Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman and earning the Fleet Marine Force Warfare designation. He had assignments all over the world, most notably seeing combat in Afghanistan as a member of the first Individual Augmentee Navy group to deploy.

Many of you know exactly what that means, but for those who don’t, Individual Augmentees are service members who volunteer for deployments. When help is needed, for particularly critical or dangerous assignments, augmentees raise their hands to join another unit, jumping into harm’s way, to help their brothers and sisters in arms. That’s Martin.

After retiring from the Navy in 2021, I’m pleased to say that Martin chose to get his health care with us, at the Jacksonville clinics and at Malcom Randall in Gainesville. In 2021, Josh Pridgen made the wise decision of hiring Martin as an analyst at the Jefferson Street Clinic. Last year, when a senior administrative position at the clinic became vacant unexpectedly, Martin offered to take on this additional role, while continuing to do his day job. And for nearly the last year, he volunteered to serve as the key member of the local Jacksonville leadership activations team responsible for opening the new facilities today, all while doing two other jobs.

Why did Martin raise his hand to take on these additional job duties? “Because,” he says, “It’s the right thing to do. Because it needs to be done. Because it needs to be done for our Veterans.” Veterans helping Veterans—always there for each other, always thinking of their country, never leaving behind a fellow Vet, continuing to strengthen our democracy. There is nothing better.

And when our nation needs him, Martin Butler answers the call. Thank you, Senior Chief Butler, for your service in the Navy and for your continued service here at Jacksonville North VA Clinic.

This outstanding facility is going to provide a lot of essential care for Vets in North Florida and South Georgia. And the domiciliary, through its residential treatment program for Veterans with mental health and substance use disorders, is going to provide lifesaving care. But remember that the most important element in caring for those Veterans will always be our VA people, so many of whom are here today. Because a state-of-the-art building, technology, and equipment enable better care, but they don’t deliver care, comfort, and compassion to Vets and their family members and their survivors. 

People do. You do.

And when a Veteran comes here, concerned about a health issue, this building won’t comfort them. This building won’t make them get better.

You will.

We have the best people, in the most Veteran-centered region, in the most Veteran-focused state, dedicated to keeping our most sacred promise—serving America’s Veterans just as well as they have served us.

So, thanks to our great VA employees for all you do. And thank you all for joining us on this very special day here in Jacksonville.

Let’s cut that ribbon.