While the recent Department of Veterans Affairs plan calls for the closure of the Coatesville VA Medical Center, it is still in the initial phase and may change significantly before implementation, write Kenny Cooper and Alan Yu for WHYY. 

“There’s going to be many twists and turns,” said Joe Brooks, executive director of the Veterans Multi-Service Center, a nonprofit that serves veterans in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. “I see this as a process unfolding over the next five to 10 years.”

Brooks compared deliberations on these recommendations to the Department of Defense’s process for shuttering or shrinking military bases.

For example, he said that while the department had recommended closing Fort Dix in neighboring New Jersey decades ago, that recommendation never came to pass.

Mike Hamill, public affairs specialist at the Coatesville VA Medical Center, agreed with this assessment and pointed out that the report opens with the reassurances that even if any of the facilities do end up being closed, replacement services will be provided for veterans who are affected by it. 

However, mere discussion of the Coatesville VA Medical Center’s closure adds insult to injury in Chester County, which recently lost Jennersville and Brandywine hospitals.

“If somebody would have told me a couple of years ago that they were going to close down Brandywine, I would have told you that’s ludicrous,” said Alain Foster, 64, a Navy veteran who receives services at the Coatesville VA Medical Center.

Read more about the Coatesville VA Medical Center at WHYY.