By Raima Saha, Co-Opinion Editor
Penn Medicine is set to purchase Brandywine Hospital campus from Tower Health, which closed in January 2022 due to financial reasons. While the purchase has yet to occur, Penn Medicine signed a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on June 28 to acquire the campus, which will be used for veteran care and other services.
The deal is part of two memorandums of understanding with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to work with the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers in Coatesville and Philadelphia. These memorandums are made possible under the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, which expands health care benefits for veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange, burn pits and other toxins.
“The legislation also includes new provisions that allow for the VA and academic partners, like Penn Medicine, to enter into lease agreements that can help provide updated facilities to serve veterans,” a Penn Medicine spokesperson said. “The intent of this partnership is to build new physical infrastructure for both the Philadelphia and Coatesville VAs, which will provide the modern facilities needed to best care for patients.”
Under this new agreement, Penn Medicine will work closely with the VA to improve facilities at the Coatesville Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) that has an infrastructure originally built in the 1930s. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs published March 2022, the Coatesville VAMC’s infrastructure “does not meet current design standards for modern health care, provides limited flexibility and has significant architectural and engineering challenges” which “creates inefficiencies that are impacting clinical, administrative, and facility support services.”
This collaboration will allow Brandywine Hospital, whose closure caused Brandywine residents to seek health care farther away, to reopen and is expected to have a profound impact on the community. As well as including VA services, Penn Medicine is evaluating the needs in the community to provide services that go beyond the VA agreement.
“The Penn Medicine and VA agreement has the potential to benefit more than 100,000 veterans in the tri-state area,” a Penn Medicine spokesperson said. “We are also talking with leaders and residents in Chester County about what additional services beyond the VA partnership are priorities for the community. Our hope, as always, is to help people in the communities we serve live longer, healthier lives.”
Joe Altimari, a Vietnam veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange while serving, uses both the Coatesville and Philadelphia VAMCs. He thinks that the new facilities will be of great help to veterans in the surrounding area, cutting down transportation times to help them get quality and efficient service.
“We call (Agent Orange) the gift that never stops giving. As we get older, we get more (ailments). I’m turning 74 years old, and I can get into Coatesville in 10 minutes with no traffic,” Altimari said. “It (Brandywine) and the Coatesville VAMC are no more than half a mile apart. You’re getting excellent doctors for specialty clinics. I think it’s a great situation. I really do.”
Raima Saha can be reached at [email protected].
