VA to Propose Closing Some Medical Centers and Outpatient Facilities

[douglas9]

The Veterans Affairs Department will soon recommend reducing its medical facility footprint by three as part of a review to reshape its health care, and announced on Thursday it will also suggest shuttering dozens of additional outpatient facilities.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough declined to detail which facilities it is recommending for closure ahead of a full rollout of its report on Monday, but local reports and lawmakers have suggested medical centers in at least southern Ohio, South Dakota and western Massachusetts are on the chopping block. VA currently has 171 medical centers across the country and it suggested bringing that number down to 168. The department did not say how many of the more than 1,100 outpatient facilities it will close, or how many new facilities it plans to build.

About 150,000 more veterans would gain primary care nearby under VA's plan, McDonough said, as well as 375,000 who would gain nearby access to specialty care and 200,000 additional veterans who would be close to mental health care.

https://www.govexec.com/management/2022/03/va-medical-centers-outpatient-facilities/363033/

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

1. I hate to see VA medical facilities closing, but, ...

... it seems the number of veterans is declining, so it's not easy to justify keeping the facilities at the same capacity.

The huge population of WW2 vets is nearly gone. The large population of Vietnam War vets is starting to approach the expected lifespan. After that, the military population has been relatively small. We no longer "cycle" big numbers of draftees through their abbreviated terms of service. We have a higher percentage of long-term servicepeople, re-enlisted, well-trained professional, resulting in fewer veterans.

Keeping facilities open will be more of a challenge in the near future.

[marie999]

2. I have a local VA primary care doctor, blood work, and psychiatrist.

Every other doctor and test is non-VA because outside of my clinic, the nearest VA is 65 miles away. I like it because Community Care gives me a choice of at least 3 local non-VA doctors.