COLORADO SPRINGS — Last month, News5's Piper Vaughn spoke with Chris Worden, a veteran who struggled to get pain pills after the Apex Center in Colorado Springs closed.
He shares how difficult the closure of this clinic has been for him.
"When you're already going through relapse from not having the medication. You know when you relapse, when you have opioids, there's all kinds of crazy stuff," he said.
Chris relied on the Apex Center to get his pain medicine.
When that clinic abruptly closed, it left him unable to get a prescription refill.
"I went directly to the VA here in Colorado Springs and sat for about 5 1/2 hours to try to speak to my primary care doctor. Unsuccessfully, a nurse came out and told me they had no idea what was going on and that I needed to go to triage in Denver if I wanted to receive care," he said.
He went six days without his pain medication.
Now, weeks later, he tells News5 he is still struggling.
"I've lost some progress, and there's some side effects that I'm kind of dealing with now that might be here for another month or two," said Worden.
I reached out to the VA's office to ask about the issues veterans are facing with the closure.
In an emailed statement, they said, quote:
"VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System learned about the closure of Apex Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Centers on Friday, November 15. That day, our community care team began reaching out to the impacted veterans with active referrals to Apex."
Chris didn't hear from the VA's office until the nineteenth.
Chris tells me he thinks the VA is making some progress, but he wants them to step up even more.
"I'm very discouraged about the way the VA handled the situation, sending out and not following and keeping tabs on what was going on. I think the VA needs to be more actively involved in the community care that they're sending out and have representatives that are following up or maybe show up in the clinics periodically."
If you are a veteran experiencing chronic pain, you can call the Veterans Affairs Chronic Pain Clinic at 720-723-3113.
For information for veterans seeking pain management, click here.
Dial 988, then press 1 for the veterans crisis line.
Watch the full story above.
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