"It is an honor to substantially expand our company's footprint here into the Greater New Orleans area, alongside the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, to support VA in the privilege of serving the health care needs of veterans here locally and throughout VA's VISN16," said David McIntyre, President and CEO, TriWest Healthcare Alliance. "The support of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the military community, as well as state leadership to include Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO), Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO), and Louisiana Economic Development (LED) and their dedication to the veterans in this community is phenomenal. It made this a very logical community for the expansion of our footprint."
JEDCO Executive Director Jerry Bologna said this is an exciting time for the JEDCO team as they have worked with TriWest Healthcare Alliance in a variety of capacities over the last six months to ensure a smooth entrance into the community. "Our organization looks forward to a long partnership with TriWest and we commend them for their efforts to create new job opportunities for our area's many veterans," said Bologna.
LED Secretary Don Pierson said the decision by TriWest to place its new operations center in New Orleans means veterans here and over much of a larger geographical footprint will receive better care with fewer obstacles and shorter wait times. "We are also delighted that by working with our regional economic development partners, we've attracted a project that is creating hundreds of jobs in our state," said Pierson.
TriWest has seen a significant increase in care requests from veterans who are looking for their health care needs to be met in the community when VA is unable to meet them directly, and the Veterans Choice Program has driven a demand to add new employees to TriWest's workforce. Employees working in the company's Jefferson Parish-based Operations Center will provide support for veterans by processing health care requests, conducting inbound and outbound telephone correspondence with veterans and health care providers, while also scheduling appointments by phone.
Veterans in the New Orleans area have not had local access to a VA hospital in over a decade and receive much of their health care through community health care providers. "It is an honor to support VA in ensuring access to care for veterans and push forward as a partner to VA to ensure our nation's veterans receive the health care they earned and deserve," said McIntyre. "I congratulate Fernando Rivera and his dedicated team at Veterans Affairs on their commitment to ensure the VA hospital here in New Orleans becomes a reality later this year. I also want to thank VISN 16's new Director, Dr. Skye McDougall, for her willingness to come here and lead a collaborative effort to meet the needs of our heroes who call the communities of VISN16 home."
According to Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System Medical Center Director, Fernando O. Rivera, VA is enhancing its health care system and improving service delivery to better serve veterans and set the course for long-term excellence and reform. "One of the ways that we are doing that is through the Choice Program, which gives eligible veterans the choice of seeing a community provider. This new hub is an extension of VA services to improve access to timely health care for our veterans," said Rivera.
President and CEO of Greater New Orleans (GNO), Inc., Michael Hecht, who was in attendance at Monday's event, said TriWest's grand opening represents multiple wins for the community - to include new jobs and wealth and increased access to health care for veterans. "GNO, Inc. congratulates TriWest Healthcare Alliance on their grand opening. We look forward to continuing to work with TriWest Healthcare Alliance and JEDCO to ensure their successful operation in Jefferson Parish," said Hecht.
Jefferson Parish President Mike Yenni said, "We are proud to celebrate the grand opening of TriWest Healthcare Alliance. We applaud TriWest's efforts to enhance health care offerings for our local veterans while also creating new jobs in our community. This company's investment in Jefferson Parish highlights our strong business climate, our unique assets, and the excellent cooperation between local, state, and regional entities. We appreciate TriWest's support and look forward to their continued success in Jefferson Parish."
At the grand opening event on Monday, TriWest President and CEO, David J. McIntyre, Jr., along with distinguished guests and community leaders welcomed the new employees and discussed the importance of their vital role in serving the community health care needs of the nation's veterans.
About TriWest Healthcare Alliance:
TriWest Healthcare Alliance serves our nation's heroes as the partner of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in administering the Patient-Centered Community Care (PC3) program and Veterans Choice Program (VCP). TriWest has been On a Mission to Serve(R) America's military families and veterans since 1996 delivering award-winning customer service and providing access to high-quality health care. The company's official website is: https://www.triwest.com/.
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Twitter: @TriWest
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NEWS SOURCE TriWest Healthcare Alliance :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (who is solely responsible for its accuracy) by and Copr. © 2016 Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®.