Courtney Visits New London CBOC with Director Montoya as Clinic Administers its First COVID-19 Vaccines to Eastern CT Veterans
NORWICH, CT—On Saturday, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) joined Connecticut VA Health Care System Director Alfred Montoya at the New London VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) to tour operations and visit with veterans as the clinic administered its first COVID-19 vaccinations. Courtney and Director Montoya also discussed the VA's ongoing efforts to quickly distribute COVID-19 vaccines to eastern Connecticut veterans. The Connecticut VA is among the nation's leaders in vaccine distribution efficiency, currently ranked second in the country in number of veterans vaccinated per 100 enrolled in the VA system. 300 veterans were scheduled to receive vaccines at the New London CBOC on Saturday, and over 13,750 Connecticut veterans have received vaccines thus far.
"Great to see our eastern Connecticut veterans get the first rounds of COVID-19 vaccines at the New London CBOC as the Connecticut VA drives the vaccine rollout forward at a steady clip," said Rep. Courtney. "When I hosted our first Veterans Advisory Board meeting of 2021 a couple of weeks ago, questions about vaccines and economic relief were at the top of just about everyone's list. Right now our state's VA is second in the nation in terms of number of veterans vaccinated per 100, and that's thanks to the hard work of Director Montoya and his team, and all of the medical staff at the New London CBOC and throughout the state. We need to keep our foot on the gas, and my office will continue working with Director Montoya to make sure that every veteran in eastern Connecticut has a chance to get vaccinated as quickly as possible."
"VA Connecticut was pleased to offer vaccine to veterans at the New London Clinic," said Director Montoya. "We know that transportation issues can make it difficult for some veterans to travel to our main campuses. We administered about 300 first doses of the Moderna vaccine and look forward to providing second doses in four weeks. Our goal is to expand vaccination clinics to all of our community clinics."
Vaccinations at all Connecticut VA sites are available by appointment only for patients enrolled for care with VA. The VA will contact patients as the vaccine becomes available for their age group. To enroll for care with VA, visit https://www.va.gov/health-care/how-to-apply/. To stay informed about the VA's vaccination plan, visit https://www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine/.
Saturday's tour took place at the New London CBOC's current location at 4 Shaws Cove, New London, CT. The CBOC is expected to open its new, larger facility later this summer, at 6 Shaws Cove. Rep. Courtney was instrumental in helping secure the lease for the expanded facility. In May 2020, Courtney announced a new lease award for the CBOC that keeps it centrally located in New London, and that will grow the space to over 15,500 sq. ft—nearly three times its old size. Courtney has continued to monitor construction progress of the new facility, visiting again most recently on January 19th with Director Montoya. The new facility will accommodate more veterans, employ double the amount of medical staff, and will feature new specialty forms of care, like cardiology, phlebotomy, space for group counseling, tele-health services, in-house lab work, and more.
For more pictures from Saturday's visit to the New London CBOC, email Rep. Courtney's office here.
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