Baldwin Park veterans hospital to stay open

The Baldwin Park VA Medical Center got a new lease on life on Tuesday, with Congressman John Mica announcing that the facility received the go-ahead from Washington to stay open even after the new, larger VA Medical Center opens in Lake Nona later this year.

Mica lobbied for the Baldwin Park facility to keep its doors open amid concerns that the Lake Nona location wouldn’t have enough room to serve all local veterans’ needs.

“Not only do we need the medical services for our veterans, but it’s an important employer, job generator and contributor to the economy,” Mica told the Observer in June. “It’s very convenient, it’s a very valuable government asset; it shouldn’t sit idle.”

The centrally located Baldwin Park facility had served veterans for decades before the new facility was announced in Lake Nona, which would be located more than 20 miles from downtown Orlando in one of metro Orlando’s most geographically removed areas.

Mica announced in a press conference that he’d gotten a letter from the acting secretary of Veterans Affairs, Sloan Gibson, on July 29 confirming that the Lake Baldwin location, which sees and estimated 100,000 veterans a year, can continue offering services through 2023.