The VAMC...Changing the Conversation

Zachary Taylor National Cemetery Annex...Hopefully coming soon to a field near you!

Three years ago, Veterans Affairs decided that a parcel of land by my house would be a great place to build a new hospital.  It is a 36 acre undeveloped piece land-locked farmland, bordered on one side by the Watterson Expressway, another by US 22, and two sides by existing residential neighborhoods.

Nobody in his right mind would look at this property and think, "Wow! That is a great location for a hospital!"  The fact that NOTHING has been built there, on one of the last remaining empty pieces of land in one of the most developed, expensive locations in the county, should have been a clue that there are issues with this location.

But I digress.

So, the VA told the community that they thought this site, over all the other sites, was the best one for its new hospital.  I won't go into detail on all of the reasons why it is an awful, poorly chosen location.  I will mention briefly that it is further away from the hospitals where veterans will need to go to get specialty treatment.  I will mention that traffic is HORRENDOUS before the anticipated additional 3,000-4,000 cars a day according to the VA's traffic study.  I will mention that these cars entering and exiting the property will all use one exit at two-lane Highway 22.  Can we say "gridlock"?   I will mention that there is no room for expansion.  I will mention that the planned complex does not fit into the surrounding community.  That currently there are no 8-story parking garages any closer than downtown (this will have two).  That the current infrastructure cannot support a project of this size.  That the initial designers of the plan said it would not have been their choice of location for a new hospital and that it will be "interesting" to get it all into this spot.  "Cozy" is one word they mentioned to describe it.  I could keep going, but that's not the point of this entry.

What I want to write about today is that regardless of what happens with this proposal, I am really, really proud of what we have accomplished.  And I hope my kids see that no matter the odds, there is value in standing up for what you believe in, in continuing the fight when things look bleak, and in speaking the truth over and over and over because someone will finally listen to what you have to say.

When this whole thing started, and we began voicing our objections, the main response we got was, "You are a NIMBY! ("not in my backyard")  Support our veterans, you rich, east end, SUV driving snob!  Just deal with a little traffic for all the veterans have done for your freedom.  It's the least you can do!"  Over and over and over again, for many, many months, that was the response we got whenever we shared the objections listed above.

But we kept talking.  We kept writing.  We kept giving interviews to anyone who would listen.  At times, it looked like things were fizzling out, but we kept plugging away.  Two neighbors on their own, and my tiny board of myself and 3 other people.

We met with Congressman John Yarmuth, with representatives from Senator Rand Paul's office and with members of our Metro Council.  We called the offices of any elected official who we thought could help and talked to their representatives, including Senator Mitch McConnell, KY, Congressmen Jeff Miller, FL, Mike Coffman, CO, Tulsi Gabbard, HI, and Hal Rogers, KY.  I spoke to members of the House Veterans Affairs Oversight Committee and developed an email correspondence with them.  We filed Freedom of Information Acts and became a 501(c)(3).  We wrote op-eds for the newspaper and taped an op-ed for a news channel.  We met with reporters, organized neighborhood meetings, and encouraged the Kentucky Medical Association to pass a resolution supporting a downtown hospital.  We met with leaders of the University of Louisville, the director of the Louisville VAMC, with city councils, with lobbyists, with anyone who would give us 20 minutes.

We kept telling the truth, sharing the facts, ignoring the negative.  We tried to be positive.  We suggested alternative uses for the land, which has already been purchased by the VA.  We pointed out that the families of our local veterans have to drive at least an hour away if the veteran wants to be buried in a military cemetery.  This land is 1/4 mile from Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, why not make it an annex?  We could honor nearly 30,000 veterans for the next 100 years if we use this land for a cemetery.  Hospitals can go lots of places.  Cemeteries can't.  We finally started getting people to listen.

And we changed the conversation.

When discussion turns to the proposed hospital, no longer do we hear, "NIMBY!"  Instead, we hear, "That is a terrible location!  Why aren't our elected officials speaking up?"  When an article on the hospital is printed in the paper, the responses are, "This hospital needs to go downtown where all of the specialty services are!  Why does the VA think this is a good site?"  When people learn we are the ones who have been working to have our new VA hospital located near downtown's medical campus, they thank us for being a voice for the community.

This whole thing has been empowering.  It has shown me, and hopefully my children, that when you have the truth on your side and you believe in something, there is value in standing up, speaking out, and being counted.

Regardless of the final outcome---and I have much faith that one day we will see the "Zachary Taylor National Cemetery Annex" located in this spot instead of a hospital---I am very proud of what we have accomplished.

We have made a difference.