Naval Health Clinic PMRF and Veterans Affairs (VA) Kauai Community Based Outpatient Clinic signed a sharing Agreement Sept. 23, linking both organizations in providing specific types of medical care to current Veterans Affairs eligible beneficiaries.

Capt. Bruce Hay, PMRF commanding officer and Chief Hospital Corpsman Frank Thompson were joined by Todd Gordon as Director of the Rural Health Program and Mental Health Social Worker and Charlene Burgess as Primary Care Social Worker from the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a ribbon cutting ceremony Oct. 8, at the Naval Health Clinic at PMRF.

"Captain Hay's vision of his base having the ability to work with the Department of Veterans Affairs has come to light," said Thompson. "The active duty staff have been excited at the idea since its arduous beginning through all appropriate VA and Navy Medical channels."

Brand new spaces are now available on PMRF to be used by the VA staff to provide care to local veterans in a comfortable and private setting.

Also in attendance at the ribbon cutting was Elizabeth Joyce, the VA nurse practitioner that will be providing care to the veterans. As part of the Army Reserve, the care for veterans is a cause near and dear to her heart.

"I am so excited to start this program, it has been a long time coming. Being part of the reserves, I am really looking forward to helping veterans and working closely with the Navy," said Joyce. "I am really looking forward to the collaboration."

With approximately 6,000 veterans on Kauai eligible for the program, Hay is fully invested in assisting them to receive quality health care, without the sometimes long journeys across the island to the VA clinic.

"It took a lot of hard work on the part of both the Navy and the Department of Veteran's Affairs to get here today but anything worth doing is worth doing well," said Hay. "By providing weekly remote care to our veterans we are helping take care of those who wore the cloth of our Nation and stood the watch before some of us were even born. It is my sincere hope that this program will flourish and be a model for other bases in other parts of the country."

Healthcare will be provided to eligible veterans who have scheduled appointments through the Veterans Affairs every Thursday at times given during appointment scheduling.

For more information from Commander, Navy Region Hawaii, visit http://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrh.html.

For more news from Commander, Navy Region Hawaii, visit www.navy.mil/.