Schumer Blasts Department of Veteran Affairs

Senator Chuck Schumer criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for what he called “Unacceptably poor communication with Hudson Valley vets regarding the closure of Castle Point’s acute inpatient care unit being closed without warning.” The unit, which provides care to veterans with substance use disorders, is scheduled to reopen within four months, giving time to the VA to supply adequate staffing. Castle Point is located in Dutchess County in close proximity to Newburgh/Beacon bridge. 

“Earlier this month…the Castle Point VA Medical Center left Hudson Valley veterans without access to potentially life-saving medical care when the center shut down its acute inpatient care unit. The lack of communication with veterans who rely on the unit for substance use disorder services is tremendously concerning. The Department of Veterans Affairs needs to re-open this unit as soon as possible with adequate staffing – and do a much, much better job of communicating what it is doing to our Hudson Valley vets – or our New York veterans could be left in the lurch and in the dark without access to vital health care,” said Schumer. “Our veterans deserve access to the highest quality of care at VA facilities, including Castle Point. I will fight tooth and nail against any efforts to permanently limit access to care to New York veterans. In the meantime, the center must ensure adequate communications with its patients to ensure they can continue to access medical care during this closure, and they need to reopen the Castle Point acute inpatient care unit ASAP. Hudson Valley’s veterans deserve nothing less.”

“The inpatient ward at Castle Point provides an integral service to the Veterans of the Hudson Valley,” said Alyssa Carrion, Director of Veterans Programs at Mental Health America of Dutchess County, responding to Schumer in a press release. “When Veterans come to us at rock bottom ready for treatment, we immediately transport them to Castle Point and stay with them until they are admitted. Then we have the ability to visit with the Veteran at E-2 until they are transferred to Montrose. Saying the closing has left the VA in a tenuous situation, Carrion asked, “Where do we take a Veteran who is ready NOW for treatment when the detox ward is closed?  When there are no beds available at Montrose for them to go right to, the VA connection will be lost if we send them to the community. While the VA states this was an under-utilized resource and is not needed, there are an average of 3-5 Veterans each month that this closure will affect care for – potentially resulting in gaps in care, increased suicide rates, and overdoses. This ward provides an important service to our Veteran community and should be reopened.”