Reed issued a statement to The Post-Journal discussing the move which will include a cut from two full-time equivalent health care providers — a full-time physician and a full-time nurse practitioner — to 1.6 — a full-time physician and a part-time nurse practitioner — that is scheduled to begin on Nov. 1.

“We have always cared deeply about our local veterans and their access to care,” Reed said. “Since we were made aware of the situation, we have communicated our veterans’ legitimate concerns directly to VA officials. In addition, we have set up opportunities for the VA to speak with our veterans regarding their needs and the impacts of these changes and asked the VA to send letters to the veterans they service to gather input and provide additional information on future changes. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and work together with the community to ensure everyone continues to receive the medical care they deserve.”

That meeting, which included representatives from Reed’s office, was made up of a group of veterans, organized by former assemblyman and Vietnam War veteran Rolland Kidder that had met earlier in July as well as the clinic’s director, Dr. Rudy Mueller, and Chautauqua County’s director of the Veterans Service Agency Greg Carlson.

Carlson, while appreciative of the meeting, was discouraged by yet understanding of its results.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Jamestown Outpatient Clinic is scheduled to move from its current location on Third Street to a new location on Hazeltine Avenue. P-J photo by Cameron Hurst

“I don’t think anything was resolved,” Carlson said of the meeting, noting that the meeting emphasized the complexities behind federal regulations to which the VA is tied.

“This has driven us to get more information and ultimately it comes down to this: the Department of Veterans Affairs is tied to numbers,” he said. “They’re not doing anything dishonest. But when you have a larger bureaucracy, it doesn’t take into account the individual needs of certain areas.”

Michael Swartz, executive director of the VA Western New York Healthcare System, also was a part of the meeting.

“We appreciate the partnership VA has with Congressman Reed’s office, Chautauqua Veterans Service Office and veterans in the Jamestown area, in support of VA health care,” Swartz said in an email statement to The Post Journal.

“The current contract provider has provided quality care with the contract coming to an end after five years,” he said, once again emphasizing that the decision is not a “downsizing initiative.”

“A new contract was awarded through Federal Acquisition Regulations,” he said. “The clinic staffing is modeled using VA panel guidelines, based on number of Veterans served; 1,200 patients for a full time physician. Currently 1,500 Veterans use the Jamestown VA Clinic. Staffing can be adjusted based on number of Veterans using the clinic. We realize change is sometimes difficult but want Veterans to know we expect the same high quality of care will be provided by the new contractor. All clinics are closely monitored for quality, access and customer service.”

Carlson, however, fears that this change will affect a quality of care that, at the moment, he believes to be very good.

“All numbers are not created equal,” he said. “Those 1,500 patients in one place do not equal 1,500 patients in another. Here in Chautauqua County, we have an elderly population with older veterans that have comorbid illnesses. Even though a doctor or nurse practitioner might have less patients on their rolls, the amount of access that these people have to healthcare is such a higher volume.”

He added, “You might have 1,500 patients as a clinic, but you see them multiple times a year, where you might have a bigger area where they might have 2,000 patients that they see once a year … they’re different situations.”

The change will also stunt any growth that the clinic has seen in recent years, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Carlson said.

“When you throw COVID in there, we’re not getting new patients and they’re not physically seeing clients, they’re not coming in right now … they’re using telephone … and now the numbers are really getting skewed.”

Carlson also found frustration with the lack of wiggle room available within the VA’s federal contract.

“The clinic director (Mueller) was willing to compromise but there was no wiggle room in the contract,” he said.

And while it doesn’t seem as though the recent lobbying will reverse the VA’s course of action, he still encourages those eligible to enroll in VA health care to help get numbers up”even if you are just getting your physical once a month.”

“We are almost to August, the change is starting in November,” he said. “We don’t have enough time to change course. The contract is going to be what it is going to be. Best thing we could do is to increase patients, I don’t know how that will happen with a limited staff, but that’s the only way you can force those hands … If we can’t change the regulation, then we have to meet the terms of the regulation.”