It’s been easier lately for veterans to get their medical care locally, rather than driving to Grand Junction to the VA hospital. Now, about every other month, the VA Mobile Medical Unit is on site in Nucla. At the VFW Uranium Post, which is also the Nucla Community Center, located at 1045 Main St. in Nucla, VA medical professionals are seeing patients.
Times are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the VA nurse on duty can provide vaccines, ear irrigations, basic health checks and screenings. Lab work too happens with the mobile unit. Walk-in appointments are welcome. Additionally, there are live video visits happening, so that veterans can speak with primary care providers about their health issues.
The mobile medical unit is scheduled for Feb. 4, and anyone who’d like to contact representatives with the mobile unit may call 970-263-2829. That day, there will also be members of the VA outreach team available for questions, as well as someone working in veteran enrollment too.
Veteran Tom Loczy, of Nucla, told the Forum, as he was helping to unload the food bank truck at West End Family Link on Jan. 9, that the mobile medical unit has been coming for the the last year.
“They come about every other month, unless they have difficulty, and then they contact everyone who was scheduled to be here,” he said. “Then sometimes they come the following month.”
He agreed it can be hard to follow their scheduling, but he said VA representatives are good about reaching out to veterans and getting them on the books.
“They pretty much call them and set appointments for them,” he said.
Loczy has also given the mobile medical unit contact information to quite a few local veterans.
He said people from Bedrock, Paradox, Nucla, Naturita, Redvale and Norwood have shown up and have kept the mobile unit fairly full of appointments. He’s not sure that anyone as far as Placerville has come, however.
He agreed local care is a blessing for those veterans that cannot drive, like older folks, those who can’t make it to Grand Junction or Montrose.
"It’s really nice for them to just be able to come down here to Nucla and pretty much get taken care of,” he said.
Loczy said the VA has promised that an audiologist will soon be coming down, but he thinks that is still in the works.
“They’re expanding their services, I know, and trying to accommodate the folks down here, which is very good for us,” he said. “So it’s a pretty good deal.”
The local vets haven’t actually seen the VA bus yet though. The mobile unit has a broken windshield that is German or Swiss-made, Loczy thinks. He said the VA is having issues getting that repaired, so the medical team is using the inside of the VFW to provide care for now.
While Loczy has not personally gotten care with the mobile team, he said he doesn’t need to do so yet. He feels comfortable and able to drive to Grand Junction at this time.
“But many of our coffee and donuts guys use it, and they’re really happy with it,” he said. “It’s a good deal so far.”
