VVA CA State Council

VA Long Beach Healthcare System will dedicate seven new buildings and officially designate VA's newest Blind Rehabilitation Center the "Major Charles Robert Soltes Jr., O.D. Department of Veterans Affairs Blind Rehabilitation Center" on Wednesday morning 25 January. The 30 month project created over 200,000 sq. ft. of new construction and will be occupied by programs including Pharmacy, Emergency Medicine, Primary Care, Employee Education System, Human Resources, Blind Rehabilitation Center (BRC), and a new Canteen with both an eatery and retail store. The BRC was named after the first military optometrist to have been killed during combat operations. Major Soltes, a graduate of Norwich University, was attached to the 426th Civil Affairs Battalion assisting in the restoration of the medical infrastructure in Iraq when he was killed by an improvised explosive device. The surviving widow and family, along with VA Under Secretary for Health, Dr. Robert Petzel will be in attendance. The new spaces embodies VA Long Beach's commitment to serve Southern California's Veterans including the newest generation of combat Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.

When: Wednesday January 25, 2012
Where: VA Long Beach Medical Center 5901 E. 7th St Long Beach, CA, 90822
What: Project 402 Dedication Time: 10:00 a. m. thru approximately 11:30 a.m.