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MOUNTAIN HOME — United States Senator Marsha Blackburn, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger, Washington County Mayor Joe Grandy, and Johnson City Mayor Todd Fowler visited James H. Quillen VA Medical Center (JHQVAMC) on April 4 to learn more about Veteran health care and services, here.

During the visit, the elected officials toured the facility and Medical Center Director Dean B. Borsos briefed them about operations and planned improvements to facilities and health care. They also participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially recognize improvements to the medical center’s mental health suite.

“Our nation stands firm as a beacon of liberty because of the powerful sacrifices our Veterans have made to preserve our freedom,” said Senator Blackburn. “Tennesseans have a distinctive record of service to our nation, and it is our obligation to ensure that all Veterans are receiving the benefits and high-quality care they were promised. As a member on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I am committed to upholding this nation’s promise to protect and care for the men and women who have served our country.”

The medical center is a state-of-the-art healthcare complex providing primary and specialty care to Veterans in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina. In addition to the services offered here, the medical center includes clinics in Knoxville, LaFollette, Morristown, Mountain City, Rogersville, Sevierville, Bristol, Va., Jonesville, Va., Norton, Va., and Vansant, Va. The medical center also includes a community living center, or nursing home, and a domiciliary.

During the last year, JHQVAMC accomplished many achievements including its cancer center attaining accreditation from the American Society for Radiation Oncology, earning the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Excellence in Patient Experience Award, and being highlighted by Becker’s Hospital Review as the only hospital in the state to earn a 5-star rating for patient satisfaction.

The medical center has an academic affiliation with East Tennessee State University College of Medicine and 79 other partnerships to further enhance access for Veterans, and has academic affiliations with the University of Tennessee and Meharry Medical College.

Construction projects and other improvements continue throughout the healthcare system including an the addition of a specialty care annex in Knoxville, renovations to the inpatient dialysis intensive care units and the women’s health clinic, and added space for specialty care at its Morristown VA clinic.

The most recent renovations include upgrades to 21,000 square feet in Bldg. 160 to renovate the mental health suite, adding 50 offices, two group rooms, three centralized check-in locations, a management suite and large waiting rooms.

“Today we are celebrating another chapter in the Mountain Home history book,” Borsos said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Veterans will come to this unit seeking help, and I know you will welcome them with open arms and warm hearts,” he said to staff in attendance.

Elected officials toured other areas during the visit including the domiciliary, audiology, radiation oncology, the intensive care unit, dialysis and the emergency department.