Vets' hospital gets outpatient child care

The U.S. Veterans Administration will offer child care for outpatient visitors at its medical care facility in Northport beginning this fall.

The hospital was one of three medical centers nationwide chosen by Veterans Administration Secretary Eric Shinseki for a pilot program offering free child care while veterans are being treated.

Women's advocates have been especially vocal about adding day care, saying its absence has made VA facilities seem particularly unwelcome to female veterans.

Giustina Penna, 32, an Iraq war veteran from Bay Shore, said she stopped attending psychotherapy sessions at Northport about two years ago in part because she had difficulty arranging for care for an infant son. "There are a lot of people who can't take care of themselves because they can't find anyone to take care of their kids," she said. "I'm very pleased to hear that it is going to go through."

Although Northport has operated a child-care center since 1986, it is reserved for the children of its employees.

Penna said she sought psychotherapy treatment at Northport after a 2005 deployment as a truck driver in Iraq left her battling depression and substance abuse. She said she was haunted by having witnessed the death of a child, and that the smell of rotting corpses there had been a frequent reminder of the danger that surrounded her.

She said for many parents, the availability of day care will mean the difference between getting regular treatment and doing without.

Central Islip native Sgt. Tito Collazo, who gets treatment for back and shoulder injuries at Northport, said he also plans to make use of the planned day care center. He said being able to bring his daughter Kaitlyn, 3, will mean he will spend less time worrying about making child-care arrangements, and focus more on his treatments.

"It will relieve so much pressure of finding someone I'm comfortable leaving my daughter with," said Collazo, 32. "I do have more of a sense of trust with the VA and military organizations."

With some 73,000 single parents currently serving in the active duty military, child care is expected to be an increasingly urgent need for new veterans seeking health services.

Women remain less likely than men to use VA health facilities, even as the percentage of women in the military continues to grow, according to Patricia Hayes, chief consultant of the VA's Women Veterans Health Strategic Health Care Group.

"We hope that by offering safe, secure child care while the veteran attends a doctor's appointment or therapy session, we will enable more women veterans to take advantage of the VA benefits to which they are entitled," Hayes said in a release.