Marion VA Director Zach Sage issues letter to Veterans

Dear Veterans,
On this Veterans Day, I am writing this letter to share my sincere appreciation for your military service and sacrifices for our freedom, and to share updates about what the Marion VA Health Care System is doing to provide Veterans the excellent care they deserve. It is my great honor to serve you and my team of more than 1,600 staff who truly believe each day is Veterans Day.
The Marion VA Health Care System saw record numbers of Veterans over the last year, continued modernizing our facilities, and expanded care across the region to support Veterans where you are.
Over 43,000 Veterans received care from us over the last year , an increase of about 3,000 over the previous year, including about 400 women Veterans, and the Marion VA Health Care System performed more than 400,000 outpatient appointments during this time. In March 2024, the main campus in Marion broke ground on a new Primary Care and Women’s Clinic and we plan to open both a new surgical suite and new laboratory in the coming months. Our hospital’s inpatient medical unit will soon begin renovations to provide Veterans a state-of-the-art care setting aimed to ensure their safety, comfort, and privacy. One year ago, appropriately taking place the week of Veterans Day 2023, the Marion VA Health Care System’s Community Living Center (CLC) resumed providing Veterans long-term nursing home care, and continued delivering short-stay/rehabilitation services, hospice, and palliative care. This first year of resumed long-term nursing home care helped close the gap for Veterans requiring expert, Veteran-centered nursing home care and was well-received. Many Veterans seek care in our CLC because they wish to be cared for in a place that honors their service and best understands their needs – actions we feel are vital to delivering our sacred mission.
The Marion VA Health Care System serves Veterans across a broad region including 52 counties in southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and southwestern Indiana. Our goal is always to provide our care in an effective, convenient way to our Veterans, and progress was made to deliver more care in our communities. A brand new clinic in Vincennes, Indiana, opened in September 2024. Additionally, I have initiated the process to replace several of our community-based outpatient clinics in southern Illinois and western Kentucky with modernized facilities and hope to see them open in the coming years. Over the last year, new providers joined our team and expanded access to primary care, mental health, cardiology, urology, dermatology, oncology, pulmonology, podiatry, pain management, and neurology services for the Veterans we serve with increased face-to-face and virtual care options in our rural communities.
President Truman captured the essence of my passion for serving Veterans in 1945: “Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices. Because of these sacrifices, the dawn of justice and freedom throughout the world slowly casts its gleam across the horizon”. It truly is a great honor to serve you.
In your debt and service,
Zachary M. Sage
Executive Director
Marion VA Health Care System

Todd Wright, Public Affairs Officer

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