Stephen Lawson: Modesto Vet Center offer counseling, not medical services

Re “What good is Modesto veterans center if it won’t see vets?” (Letters online, March 30): On March 30, a letterwriter stated that her 79-year-old husband could not get his medical care transferred to the Modesto Vet Center from Fresno. We would like to correct the record. The Modesto Vet Center is a counseling service for combat veterans, those suffering military sexual trauma, and those in need of bereavement counseling who have lost loved ones while serving on active duty.

We are not a medical clinic.

So frequently, people refer to the VA medical clinic, veteran service office and other agencies as the “Modesto Vet Center.” People have also confused us as a veterinarian service agency. These are common mistakes we see daily.

We understand the Modesto VA clinic has lost a number of MDs, psychiatrists and other care providers, however we are confident the staff is doing its best to provide as many services as possible for our veterans while seeking new medical personnel.

We welcome to the letter writer and her husband to visit the Modesto Vet Center to see if we can provide any services within our scope of services, and offer assistance with overcoming any obstacles they are encountering.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Stephen Lawson: Modesto Vet Center offer counseling, not medical services."