Bath VA awarded $5.6 M for expanded services
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

BATH - The Bath VA last week announced it has receive a funding package worth $5.6 million to expand medical services and hire 50 additional new employees trained largely in clinical technologies.

New services will include an area dedicated to colonoscopy procedures, as well as the expansion and renovation of the emergency department.

In addition, the VA will use the funds to expand its home-based primary care program, through which VA health providers are able to attend to the needs of disabled veterans in their homes.

The projects are to be in place by the end of September, the VA said in a prepared release.

"We couldn't be happier," said David West, Medical Center director. "This shows a true commitment to Bath, and we are reaffirming out commitment to the veterans we are here to serve."

The expanded veteran services will extend across the Southern Tier, as well as into the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania, the VA said.

Brandon Gardner, public affairs officer for the Bath VA, said the funds were awarded by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs, which disperses funding through the Veterans Integrated Service Network of Upstate New York. The Network includes medical centers in Albany, Buffalo, Canandaigua and Syracuse, as well as 29 community based out-patient clinics.