Local veterans report the Salem VA Clinic is off to a good start following its ribbon cutting Jan. 17. Among the positive points at the clinic are growing enrollment, good staff members and high quality service.
“The atmosphere at the clinic is very warm and friendly,” says Salem American Legion Chaplain Richard LaBrash. “When you walk in you are greeted with a hello and you get the feeling you are around professionals who really care about your well-being. Hot coffee is also being provided.”
Salem Memorial District Hospital Administrator Kasey Lucas agrees he is hearing positive things.
“When you provide good service it spreads by word of mouth,” Lucas says. “The VA clinic has been a win-win-win. It’s good for local veterans, good for the hospital and good for the community.”
Lucas says the hospital is currently working with the VA to improve signage at the clinic as part of a wider project at the hospital.
LaBrash credits the current staff at the clinic as key to the clinic’s recent success as well was the watchful eye of Dr. Patricia Hall, Director of the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff.
“The receptionist and nurse are both Iraq war veterans and understand the needs of their fellow vets,” LaBrash says. “Dr. (Harry) Harness is a great guy and former flight surgeon with the U.S. Air Force. He is also not opposed to calling himself a country doctor. He is a Missouri boy who grew up around Bowling Green. I remember he and I talked together for about an hour, and a point he made repeatedly is that his goal is to provide the best quality of healthcare possible while he is at the clinic.”
Dr. Harness is currently at the Salem VA Clinic every Thursday and Friday, with triage care available at the clinic Monday to Wednesday. LaBrash says he is hopeful primary care will be available five days a week at the clinic before the end of the year.
“Since the clinic’s ribbon cutting, enrollment has increased by at least 30 percent. I am even told last weekend a World War II veteran came and got himself enrolled,” LaBrash says. “If enrollment continues to grow at the current rate I expect we’ll have Dr. Harness here all week. I’ve spoken to him, and he is not opposed to the idea. He says he loves Salem and all the people who he’s met here.”
LaBrash says he is planning to further drum up the local numbers by launching an enrollment campaign in the five-county service area the Salem VA Clinic serves.
“It’s important every veteran in Dent, Iron, Reynolds, Shannon and Texas counties get enrolled into the VA healthcare system,” LaBrash says. “Even if you don’t think you’ll need the VA services now, if you enroll you’ll help another veteran who does.”
Going forward, LaBrash says he is hopeful more veterans will visit the clinic in person and discover what it has to offer.
“I was at the clinic when an elderly veteran came in with a blockage problem. He looked real awful and in a horrible situation,” LaBrash says. “They took him back immediately and in less than five minutes they had him processed through the clinic and hospital, and he was on his way to the Columbia VA hospital. It was very encouraging and gave me to confidence to see that’s the level of service we can expect. That is exactly what we’ve been hoping for.”
The Salem VA Clinic now has a designated phone number and can be contacted at (573) 453-2840.
