Forward Observer — LVHN’s MAVRIC Opens on 10 November
Yet another glitzy and confusing acronym has appeared on the veterans scene: MAVRIC, which stands for “Military and Veterans Information/Resource Center.” But as our combat buddy, Bill Shakespeare, once said, “What’s in a name? that which we call a rose … By any other word would smell as sweet …” And, indeed, this one smells sweet. To fanfare on the morning of 10 November, legislators and other public officials and employees will be introduced to the center which is located on the first floor of the former School of Nursing building at 17th and Chew Street, opposite the original Allentown Hospital, now a satellite of the Lehigh Valley Healthcare Network (LVHN). Times have changed. And now, after too long a time, finally something substantively good at the local level has arisen on the subject of healthcare assistance for our local military and veterans. We’re hoping legislators take note of this of this one-of-a-kind concept. It shows what can be done when there is a will in a hospital network to pay attention to the sometimes peculiar needs of its military and military veterans.
Click on to enlarge
We are passing along their open invitation (see the flyer on the right) to the general public on the afternoon of 10 November because we believe it is important our military servicemembers and veterans know of it and understand how it can help when problems in their healthcare service arise and provide ancillary services. The center is intended to assist both healthcare professionals and patients through the seeming maze the American system of healthcare administration has created when care is related to past military service.
It should be noted, however, this resource is not intended as part of some movement to replace the vital role VA healthcare facilities play in this valley. Rather, it is intended to help to improve the integration and day-to-day workings of VA healthcare system’s new concepts in this community. It will also deal with problems involving the Department of Defense’s healthcare system (TRICARE).
Getting the private healthcare sector to step up its game and properly recognize a special population’s needs in visible, concrete actions continues to be a battle nationally. Veterans Day celebrations will not do the trick. In our own Lehigh Valley alone, private healthcare treats the vast majority of our 45,000 veterans, let alone their families. About 17% of our veterans use the local VA healthcare system (a good one) in any given calendar year — and then most not exclusively. So, it is not as if this population is insignificant to our local health providers. Actually military veterans constitute about 9 to 10% of the adult population in the valley. An action like this on the part of a local medical establishment is therefore a wise investment. It makes horse sense 🙂
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RJH
As of 17 October 2017