| Offices : Beckley • Charleston • Fairmont • Martinsburg • Washington, DC | E-mail Senator Rockefeller |
July 12, 2001
ROCKEFELLER PRAISES FLOOD ASSISTANCE RESPONSE FROM VETERANS AFFAIRS
VA-staffed van provides mobile medical and clean-up help
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Jay Rockefeller, who visited with families in flooded areas of Fayette county on Tuesday, has been in contact with the director of the Beckley VA Medical Center, Gerald Husson, and is pleased to see how quickly they have responded to the needs of veterans who have been affected by recent flooding.
"The Beckley VA continues to be aggressive in their mission to assist veterans wherever they are, whatever their problems may be," Rockefeller said. "They’ve really been Good Samaritans in the wake of these disastrous floods in southern West Virginia, and I’m proud of the work they are doing."
A Veterans Affairs van has been traveling from Beckley to places like Oceana, Mullens and Welch in order to bring assistance directly to veterans in those areas severely affected by flooding. Many veterans have no access to medications they need, and some have literally lost their medications in the flood itself.
The VA van has been distributing tetanus shots to veterans, assisting them with other medical supplies and first aid, and providing veteran’s families with bottled water, cleaning and safety supplies.
"We expect to be in Welch at the city hall on Friday, Fayetteville at the Memorial Building on Monday and probably back at the staging area by the pool in Mullens on Tuesday," Husson said. "We’re going into stores and loading up with supplies, giving the veteran’s families that we encounter what they need, and then going back for more. Communications have been a problem, but we’re doing the best we can. We’re helping."
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