World-Class Health Care Brought Closer to More Veterans
WASHINGTON – To bring the world-class health care of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) closer to where veterans live, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson today announced plans to open 38 new community-based clinics in 22 states.
“VA is committed to providing world-class health care to the men and women who have served this nation,” Nicholson said. “These new clinics will bring VA’s top-notch care closer to the veterans who have earned it.”
With 153 hospitals and about 700 community-based clinics, VA operates the largest integrated health care system in the country. VA’s health care budget of more than $34 billion this year will provide health care to about 5.5 million people during nearly 800,000 hospitalizations and 60 million outpatient visits.
“Community-based medicine is better medicine,” said Dr. Michael Kussman, VA’s Acting Under Secretary for Health. “It makes preventative care easier for patients, helps doctors have closer relationships with their patients and permits easier follow-ups for people with chronic problems.”
The new facilities, called community-based outpatient clinics, or CBOCs, will become operational by October 2008. Local VA officials will keep communities and their veterans informed of milestones in the creation of the new CBOCs.
A list of the new community clinics follows:
VA’s Proposed Sites for New Outpatient Clinics
Alabama — Childersburg
Arkansas — Pine Bluff
Florida — Jackson and Putnam
Georgia — Camden and Stockbridge
Idaho — North Idaho
Indiana — Elkhart County and Knox
Iowa — Carroll, Cedar Rapids, Marshalltown and Shenandoah
Kansas — Hutchison
Kentucky — Berea, Daviess and Grayson County
Maryland — Andrews Air Force Base and Ft. Detrick
Michigan — Alpena County and Clare County
Missouri — Branson and Jefferson City
Montana — Cut Bank and Lewistown
Nebraska — Bellevue
South Carolina — Aiken and Spartanburg
South Dakota — Wagner and Watertown
Ohio — Hamilton and Parma
Tennessee — Hawkins and Madison
Utah — Western Salt Lake Valley
Virginia — Charlottesville
Washington — Northwest
West Virginia — Monongalia
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Reporters and media outlets with questions or comments should contact the Office of Media Relations at vapublicaffairs@va.gov
Veterans with questions about their health care and benefits (including GI Bill). Questions, updates and documents can be submitted online.
Veterans can also use our chatbot to get information about VA benefits and services. The chatbot won’t connect you with a person, but it can show you where to go on VA.gov to find answers to some common questions.
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