CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi West Point Veterans Affairs Clinic saw dozens of veterans come to learn about the technology available to them at a town hall on Wednesday.
VA officials told 3NEWS their goal is to bring health care closer to veterans both in their homes and offices.
Three types of technology were demonstrated at the townhall. They include a secure way for veterans to communicate with health care teams, setting up text reminders about their health-care needs and how to book a video appointment with a health care provider.
Hugo Martinez with VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System explained how the video connect feature works, which can create video appointments with providers on a mobile device or computer.
"The provider will be able to see them, and they will have a conversation and they'll talk about the veteran's health and make sure that they're well assessed and well taken care of," Martinez said.
Dr. Jorge Zamora-Legoff, also with the healthcare system, said the technology is designed to be both innovative and easy to learn.
"We want to make the technology as easy to use for our veterans," Zamora-Legoff said. "They're very straightforward applications. We're able to invite family members or caregivers if they're wanting to do so for the video visit."
Zamora-Legoff has been with the VA for four years. He said this technology helps ensure care is delivered when it's needed.
"We've seen an expansion to reach more and more of our veteran population, especially those veterans in rural areas that have more difficult time traveling to this clinic," he said.
Martinez said a provider might determine during a virtual evaluation that a veteran needs to be seen in-person. A veteran may also decide they want to come in-person and he said they always have that option. He said this technology helps extend the VA's reach to the 14,000 veterans enrolled for health care in the Coastal Bend.
"We have veterans that live over 150-miles away from the nearest VA clinic," Martinez said. "This is going to save them that 150-mile trip one way. We are going to be able to accommodate those veterans."
Martinez encourages all veterans to come to the clinic and register for health care services.
If you are interested, he says the clinic can give you the information you need during your next visit.
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