{"id":8225,"date":"2024-06-08T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-08T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8225"},"modified":"2024-06-08T20:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-08T20:30:00","slug":"veteran-drives-from-canada-for-va-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8225","title":{"rendered":"Veteran drives from Canada for VA care"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2024-06-08T20:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

Army Veteran Robert Brownridge wrote an appreciation letter to the Wilmington VA Medical Center giving accolades to Wilmington VA<\/a> staff that went above and beyond during his appointments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to know how wonderful your staff is to me and I really appreciate them. I know they will continue to offer the best possible service.\u00a0Nowhere outside VA approaches the treatment and coordination I experience every time I am treated at the Wilmington VA,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Brownridge and his wife Elaine Burns drive from their home in Ontario, Canada, to the Wilmington VA to receive care. This is about an 11-hour car ride for them each way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is worth the drive. You do such a great job for your Veterans,\u201d said Burns, a retired Canadian nurse. \u201cA lot of his issues have been found that wouldn\u2019t have been found if the medical providers here weren\u2019t so in depth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since they have a long commute, Brownridge tries to plan his doctor\u2019s appointments close together. VA staff also try to help make it convenient and easy by rearranging appointments as needed.<\/p>\n

Staff assisted on appointment mix up<\/h2>\n

During one visit, Brownridge mixed his days up and mistakenly thought his appointment was on a Monday when instead it was on Friday. Medical support assistant Andre Clark in Optometry was able to get Brownridge in on that Tuesday. This saved him from driving all this way and missing his scheduled appointment.<\/p>\n

Brownridge also recognized Vascular Surgery Clinic nurse Michele Bennett and Vascular Surgeon Naveen Balasundaram in his letter of appreciation.\u00a0\u201cMichelle Bennett and Dr. Balasundaram are a great team and went above and beyond for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Receiving great care is a big help to Brownridge, who loves traveling with his wife and competing in the Senior Olympics for swimming. This past year, Brownridge qualified for the Senior Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am able to swim farther than I can walk at times,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

Veterans interested in enrolling in VA health care can enroll online at\u00a0How To Apply For VA Health Care | Veterans Affairs<\/a>, call 877-222-8387 or visit their nearest VA eligibility office.<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Veteran and his wife drive from Canada to Wilmington VA to receive care \u2026 about an 11-hour drive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-health-care"],"yoast_head":"\nVeteran drives from Canada for VA care - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Veteran and his wife drive from Canada to Wilmington VA to receive care \u2026 about an 11-hour drive.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8225\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Veteran drives from Canada for VA care - 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