VA shuttering underperforming clinics, addressing leadership shortcomings at others

A Veterans Affairs medical center in Georgia and two clinics in other states are undergoing changes or closures as a result of the department’s review of veterans’ medical services.

VA Secretary Doug Collins said Thursday during a Senate hearing on the VA’s $488 billion budget proposal for fiscal 2027 that the VA has decided to close facilities that don’t properly care for veterans and has made changes to address longstanding issues at Augusta VA Medical Center in Georgia.

According to Collins, community-based VA outpatient clinics in McMinnville, Tennessee, and Schenectady, New York, will close this year. McMinnville will close May 31, and the Schenectady clinic will close in August, according to reports.

The closures have alarmed veterans who use the clinics and will be forced to go elsewhere for care; in some cases, they will travel more than 35 miles from the existing clinics for health services.

In the hearing before the Senate Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, Collins said the clinics, which were privately run, did not meet VA standards of care and will be shuttered.

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Source: Military Times
Website: www.militarytimes.com