North Hills VA Hospital Has Full Array of Services

* I would like to clarify some points made by veterans and reporters who say the Sepulveda VA Medical Center in North Hills is closed and there is no transportation to the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center.

Sepulveda’s new mission is to provide a full array of outpatient and nursing home care to the veterans we serve. Inpatient services will be provided by the West Los Angeles center.

The Sepulveda VA outpatient program is fully operational. This includes medical, surgical, mental health, drug and alcohol abuse clinics. In addition, the 120-bed nursing home care unit will be opening soon. There is an active vet center on the medical center grounds. Research and education will continue to be important activities at Sepulveda.

The Sepulveda VA Medical Center is affiliated with UCLA and will continue to provide the most sophisticated health care available today with a staff of highly skilled physicians, nurses and allied health professionals using the most modern technology.

An urgent care section has been initiated here at Sepulveda and is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Veterans seeking care at the Sepulveda VA facility who need emergency hospitalization will be examined and transferred to the nearest private-sector hospital by ambulance. Veterans needing elective or non-urgent inpatient hospitalization are transported to the West Los Angeles center.

Sepulveda has been offering a wide range of specialty services to the veterans of the San Fernando Valley and the surrounding areas for more than 40 years. When the new state-of-the-art outpatient clinic is completed in December, 1995, it will further enhance these services.

PERRY C. NORMAN

Director

Department of Veterans

Affairs Medical Center

North Hills