Members of the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland met Thursday, April 25 at Dowell’s Hilton Garden Inn. Topics discussed included an update on efforts to improve health services for the region’s military veterans, the pending opening of the Maryland Veterans’ Museum in Glasva and the Southern Maryland 2020 initiative.
Calvert County Commissioner Susan Shaw [R] reported on the efforts of the council’s Veterans Regional Advisory Committee to improve the once-substandard local veterans’ clinic in Charlotte Hall. Shaw said after several years of advocating for improved communication, the committee and representatives of the U.S. Veterans Administration are meeting quarterly.
A “brand-new, state-of-the-art medical center” will replace the Charlotte Hall clinic, a satellite facility will be located near Patuxent Naval Air Station (PAX NAS) and dental services will be offered to veterans at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head.
“We still have some challenges,” said Shaw, who noted there are approximately 40,000 military veterans living in Southern Maryland with approximately 1,900 additional vets added to the population in the past year.
Shaw reported a peer support group called “Battle Buddies” has been established as a nonprofit organization in Calvert and is likely to expand into the other two Southern Maryland jurisdictions.
The committee is also starting to raise funds to address the issue of transporting vets to healthcare facilities. “We are making some headway,” said Shaw. “We are held up as the example in the state. Your veterans are getting the very best care we can offer them.”
The Tri-County Council Chairman, Charles County Commissioners’ President Candice Quinn Kelly, presented Shaw with a plaque commending her for her leadership of the committee.
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