By Elizabeth Christensen
Syracuse, NY – The Veteran's Affairs administration has closed and consolidated a number of facilities across the country recently.
The VA is now studying trends in the veteran population in anticipation of more cuts in the future.
For now, Syracuse's VA medical center has been spared.
VA Medical Center Director James Cody says Central New York's veteran population is expected to decline by 20 to 50 percent over the next 20 years and may be subject to a reshuffle in the future.
Still, he forsees the hospital and it's 8 satellites continuing to operate the way they have been in terms of inpatient and outpatient care.
He hopes the VA in Syracuse can continue to deliver care in a familiar way to Central New York's veterans.
Cody says even though the veteran population is declining, the demand for out-patient services continues to rise.