Fight to keep Muskogee VA hospital open reaches 15,000 signatures; ‘thank you’ concert planned | State and Regional News

“The people, the general public, are awful wise. And they all say closing it is the stupidest idea they’ve ever heard of. Those are the words they use,” said Don Nichols, who’s spearheading the petition drive to keep the Jack C. Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center open.

Nichols, who’s been gathering signatures for the past few weeks, said he’s overwhelmed by the support from his fellow Oklahomans. There’s still work to be done, he said. But he’s optimistic that the effort will succeed and wants to pause now to thank supporters.

A special “thank you” concert has been set for 5:30 p.m. July 1 outside the Muskogee Civic Center, 435 Boston St. Nichols said the event is free and that food trucks will be on site.

“It’s just a way to celebrate all the people who have gotten behind this,” Nichols said. “It’s time to say thank you.”

The petition drive was launched following the news in March that a VA reorganization study was recommending closure of the nearly 100-year-old hospital when a new VA hospital planned for downtown Tulsa opens in a few years. Muskogee instead would get a new VA clinic.

The recommendation caught local leaders and congressional members by surprise, but they were assured that the center would remain open as an in-patient mental health treatment facility.

Working with U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin’s office, Nichols recently submitted a letter to the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs asking that the hospital be exempted from closure.

“The VA secretary (Denis McDonough) said if hospitals are serving underserved populations, they will not be closed,” Nichols said.

He believes that Muskogee should qualify, with many of its patients being American Indian and/or African American, rural and low income.

At a rally in May, several veterans gave testimonials about the importance of the Muskogee hospital to them, with some predicting that veterans from southeastern Oklahoma would not travel to Tulsa for medical care.

Nichols said he is also working with Mullin’s office to have the hospital designated an official historical site.

Nichols, a retired VA employee and Vietnam veteran, said he has traveled all over the eastern part of the state to spread the word about the planned closure and collect signatures.

Going in, he didn’t know what to expect, he said.

“I’ve never tried to save a hospital before. But I did know I needed to get the pulse of the people of eastern Oklahoma,” he said.

The response “has really restored my faith in the American people,” he said. “Oklahoma people are amazing. Just good, good people.”

October 2021 video: Veterans Hospital in Tulsa groundbreaking