Traveling Veteran Finds His Home at the Wilmington VA
For the past year, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Thomas Morelli has been traveling all over the country as an ordained minister to visit different religious sites and for his own recreational purposes.
Due to his traveling from California to Idaho, Tennessee, Florida and Virginia, he has been marked as a traveling Veteran with the VA.
VA offers seamless care for traveling Veterans or Veterans seeking care at an alternate VA. Veterans receive the same, consistent care, whether at your local VA health care facility or an alternate VA health care facility.
Through every state he visited, he was able to go to the closest VA and receive assistance with his health care needs.
“It was as smooth as you could hope for it to be,” said Morelli. “It was like you were another Veteran of the community wherever you went. If I needed anything, like medication, I would get it.”
It wasn’t until he took a bad fall while visiting West Chester, Pennsylvania that he had to go to the closest emergency room which happened to be the Wilmington VA Medical Center.
“It was the best you could have imagined,” said Morelli. “When I tell you the best you could imagine, I mean the best. It was like a well-oiled machine. It was not hours of waiting. It was great.”
The Wilmington VA Medical Center's emergency room is located at 1601 Kirkwood Hwy., Wilmington, Delaware and is open 24 hours a day, 7-days a week with 10 medical treatment beds and three mental health beds with capabilities to expand when needed.
The emergency department has a staff of around 40 that consists of physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, technicians, and administrative support staff. In addition, emergency services are also available for interfacility transfers.
“Compared to other VA’s, Wilmington VA services focus on the Veteran, care and willingness to go the extra mile,” said Morelli. “Like when I met Valerie Harwood when she saw me roaming the halls at the Wilmington VA and she asked if she could help me. She took me and introduced me to one of the centers to get me assigned to primary care.”
“We want Veterans to experience the best-quality care when visiting the VA,” said Valerie Harwood U. S. Air Force Veteran and Wilmington VA Public Affairs Officer. “Walking into a new facility for the first time can be overwhelming, and we want all Veterans to feel welcomed and build long-term relationships.”
“She followed up with me to make sure that I got signed up,” said Morelli. “That is care! People at the Wilmington VA thanked me for my service. Whenever I talk to any service they truly care.”
Morelli has recently decided to stay in Delaware not only for the care he received at Wilmington VA but also to be with his high school sweetheart and her family.
“We are in the process of buying a home in Newark and a big part of my decision was the way I have been treated at the VA in Wilmington,” said Morelli.
Morelli has been receiving care at Wilmington VA since September 2024 and looks forward to looking into being a volunteer with the Voluntary Services at the Wilmington VA Medical Center.
“For the first time since 1969, I have felt in these last few months that I have been highlighted and I have been proud to be a Veteran and proud to be receiving the services that I am receiving,” said Morelli.
“I encourage all Veterans using the VA to help their fellow Veteran not enrolled to sign-up for VA health care services,” said Harwood.
To enroll in VA health care, stop any VA facility or go to https://www.va.gov/health-care/how-to-apply/.