Los Banos Veterans open house Nov. 20 will highlight a telehealth breakthrough

Veterans parades in Los Banos in recent years have been popular. The Los Banos Veterans will have a different event this year, which they think will be just as popular, highlighting a veterans’ healthcare opportunity unique on the west coast of the United States.

On November 20 from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. the Los Banos VFW Post 2487 and American Legion Post 166 are inviting everyone in the community to an open house at the local Veterans Hall (615 E Street).

The Saturday event will provide free food for all and will show residents a technological breakthrough for veterans’ health care: the ATLAS telehealth system, which provides veterans in Los Banos the opportunity to be seen by medical specialists without leaving their hometown.

Many Enterprise readers are familiar with this upcoming event and the ATLAS project, having read Abbie Lauten-Scrivner’s superb October 29 news story. I would like to add a few more details and some further background.

Los Banos was one of three cities in the United States (along with Eureka, MT and Linesville, PA) chosen to be the first ATLAS sites by the U.S. Veterans Administration and Philips Electronics. Currently there are only 12 ATLAS sites in the United States, and Los Banos is the only one in Washington, Oregon and California.

ATLAS (Accessing Telehealth through Local Area Statons) is a unique system in which a veteran at a remote rural site can enter a soundproof room with a hardwired broadband connection and connect with doctors anywhere in the world. The system even features a high-tech camera system which by reading a person’s eyeball can display vital signs like temperature and blood pressure.

Anyone coming to the Los Banos Veterans open house on November 20 can take a brief tour of the ATLAS station with an explanation of how it works. The open house will also show visitors the many other activities the local veterans organization and auxiliary sponsors, including posting American flags on holidays in town at 775 locations.

The ATLAS system in Los Banos has been in the works for five years. Lead company engineers and executives from Phillips Medical Electronics first met with local VFW commander Mike Hughes and American Legion commander Alan Cotta in 2016 and returned many times to work with local veterans until they were sure the system would work.

Several months ago was the first time a local veteran participated in the Los Banos ATLAS system, and the experience was a success. Since then, 25 veterans have been ATLAS patients.

“ATLAS is a big deal,” said local VFW commander Mke Hughes. “Before this system was created, a veteran on the Westside of Merced County would have had to travel at least an hour to see a VA doctor. Now local veterans have premium healthcare access right here in Los Banos.”

The local veterans group was looking for an opportunity to showcase the system to the community, and decided November 20 was a good time to do it, not long after Veterans Day.

“We were all disappointed we couldn’t have a parade this year,” said Alan Cotta, local American Legion commander, “because of changing COVID restrictions. The Los Banos Veterans group decided this would be an excellent alternative.”

Many dignitaries are expected at the November 20 event, including U.S. Congressman Jim Costa, state assemblyman Adam Gray, state senator Anna Caballeros and Los Banos native Paul Loeffler of Hometown Heroes. In addition, representatives from Philips Electronics and the Veterans Administration have indicated they will be coming to the event.

“People on the Westside should know how fortunate we are to have ATLAS available to local veterans,” Hughes said. “We are the only ATLAS site west of Arizona.” He pointed out that any veteran who is eligible for VA health care can now call the Fresno VA office and schedule an appointment.

“The VA has a mission to deliver best in class service to veterans everywhere,” according to Deborah Lafer Scher on the VA website. Scher is the Executive Advisor to the VA Secretary who leads the Secretary’s Center for Strategic Partnerships.

The VA and Philips Electronics chose Los Banos, as well as Eureka MT, and Linesvile, PA, as the first three sites for ATLAS because the towns are in remote rural areas far from VA centers, often with unreliable broadband internet connections. “Approximately one third (nearly 5.2 million) of the Veterans that VA serves live in rural areas and often drive great distances to access VA care,” the VA website notes.

“By connecting rural veterans with help from partners like Philips,” Scher said, the VA “will continue to exceed the care standards for our nation’s heroes. Telehealth expansion is truly the next frontier for VA Healthcare.”

One of the Philips engineers who designed ATLAS, Chelsey Wickmark, is as excited about its possibilities as the VA. “The Atlas project was an invaluable opportunity,” Wickmark noted on the Philips website, “to learn from our veteran communities.

“We reexamined the multi-dimensional barriers to health care access that exist in many of today’s rural communities,” Wickmark added. “The impact of this work really stems from the openness and enthusiasm of our partners to come on this wonderful design journey with us.”

One of the key partners was the Los Banos Veterans group that worked with Philips for many hours during many visits over the past five years. Local veterans like Hughes and Cotta and many others volunteered their time and energy to make this happen.

The November 20 open house will be an opportunity for residents on the Westside of Merced County to come to the Los Banos Veterans Hall and thank these local veterans for their service--not only while they served in the military but afterward when they continued to serve their community with the same dedication and perseverance they showed on active duty.

The open house should have a large turnout, enabling many people to have fun, enjoy free food, learn about the latest telehealth technology and thank local members of the VFW and American Legion posts for all they continue to do for their country and their community, especially for their fellow veterans.

On another note: On November 5 the Los Banos Campus of Merced College will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with a celebration from 4 to 6 p.m. on campus. Everyone in the community is invited to this free family-friendly event.

John Spevak wrote this for the Los Banos Enterprise. His email is john.spevak@gmail.com.