Jordan Health, county partner to help veterans

Hundreds of veterans could benefit from a new partnership between Jordan Health Center and the County of Monroe.

The partnership is designed to help local veterans access Veterans Affairs benefits. There are currently hundreds of veterans or spouses of veterans throughout the Greater Rochester area who unknowingly are eligible for several benefits due to their service, officials noted, and thousands of dollars go unclaimed every year.

Jordan Health patients who are also veterans or the spouses of veterans will be provided information and have the opportunity to meet with a Monroe County Veteran Services Agency representative on-site at the Jordan Center.

“Our veterans have given so much to our country. We owe them more than a debt of gratitude but also the opportunity and assistance to secure all of their eligible VA benefits,” said Jordan Health Center President and CEO Janice Harbin in a statement Thursday. “It is critical, now more than ever, that we help our veterans obtain not just the health benefits they have earned, but the financial benefits as well. We’re proud to support the veterans in the communities we serve.”

The Monroe County Veteran Services Agency representative will be available at the Jordan Center on Holland Street every other Thursday. The representative will walk eligible individuals through the process to gather the materials needed to support a claim, file a claim and track the claim through the VA system, officials explained.

“As Jordan Health has done time and again in the past when asked to help the county bring vital services into the City of Rochester, they did not hesitate to say ‘yes,'” said Monroe County Executive Adam Bello. “This new partnership between the Veteran Services Agency and Jordan Health provides veterans served by Jordan Health ready access to the expertise of the Veteran Services Agency staff. We look forward to the expansion of the partnership to Jordan Health’s other sites.”

The Monroe County Veterans Service Agency has assisted in facilitating the payment of more than $6.3 million in retroactive benefits and roughly $15 million in monthly payments in the last year.

“The fact that there may be even one veteran, let alone hundreds, living in Rochester who have not received the VA benefits they have earned due to not having been informed of them is unacceptable. As a government agency it is our job to extend our outreach and meet people where they are,” said Nick Stefanovic, director of Monroe County Veterans Services. “People need to see our physical presence and know that we respect their service to our country and are available to represent them, ensuring they are paid the financial benefits due to them.”

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