Coming off their 125th year anniversary, Danville’s VA Illiana Health Care is now launching a new leadership initiative, kicked off by Tuesday’s (Feb 13th) unveiling of a special leadership wall. This very long display of names and pictures, located in the connecting hallway between Buildings 98 and 102, is meant to not only show what a rewarding career that the Veterans Administration can be, but also to encourage current Veteran patients that perhaps they could join the team someday. Public Affairs Officer Dori Camacho Torres explains.
AUDIO: We do have a long legacy of people who are committed to public service. And we do have a long legacy of people committed to serving our Veterans, and who ARE Veterans. We do employ a significant number of Veterans, I believe about one-third of our staff members are Veterans. So it’s like “Veterans serving “Veterans.”
VA Illiana Health Care Associate Director Richard Griffith says this is a strong legacy to be celebrated. And that while Veterans are being treated, the country is always producing more Veterans.
AUDIO: This is a big facility. It takes care of 30,000 Veterans a year, plus all of their family members and their care givers that we support. And it takes quiet, persistent leaders behind the scenes; a legacy of commitment to ensure that that care if delivered.
Griffith also mentioned that when Danville’s Veterans facility first opened in 1898, it was the year of the Spanish-American War. He says to this day, they are keeping with Abraham Lincoln’s stated promise “to care for those who shall have borne the battle, and for their families and survivors.” He says one of the goals for during this leadership initiative is to have a new permanent facility in the Champaign-Urbana area. Current permanent facilities exist in Danville, Bloomington, Peoria, Decatur, Springfield, and Mattoon.
