Mobile County Health Department's Family Health welcomes veterans for primary care appointments

MOBILE, Ala. -- Dr. Bernard Eichold, Health Officer for Mobile County, applauds the efforts of U.S. lawmakers for taking steps to ensure more military veterans can turn to public health and private providers under a law signed Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014, by President Barack Obama.
Under the law, U.S. veterans who have waited at least a month for a medical appointment or who live at least 40 miles from a Veterans Affairs hospital or clinic will be able to see private doctors at government expense, according to reports by the Associated Press on Aug. 7.

“As a person with prior military service and a public health physician, I am excited for this opportunity to offer improved access to care for those who have served our nation,” Eichold said. “The Mobile County Health Department’s Family Health division has nine community health centers where veterans and their families are welcome to make a same-day or next-day appointment for primary care needs.”

Family Health, the primary care division of the Mobile County Health Department, offers a variety of services including adult health, women’s health and pediatric care, among other services. Visit www.familyhealthalabama.org  for a complete list of sites and hours of operation. Most Family Health centers are open extended hours and also feature urgent care clinics for those with
According to the AP, the law devotes $10 billion in emergency spending over three years to pay private doctors and other health professionals to care for qualifying veterans who can't get timely appointments at VA hospitals or clinics or who live more than 40 miles from one of them. It includes $5 billion for hiring more VA doctors, nurses and other medical staff and $1.3 billion to open 27 new VA clinics across the country.

Expanding the VA staff by hiring thousands of doctors, nurses and mental health counselors — another key component of the law — will take months to get underway and years to complete, VA officials told the Associated Press. Opening 27 new clinics across the country, another part of the new law, will take at least two years, officials said.