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U.S. Senator
Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees |
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For Immediate
Release April 13, 2007 |
CONTACT: Cody Wertz – Comm.
Director |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Quality health care can be difficult for rural veterans to reach; the distance many rural Colorado veterans travel just for a doctor’s appointment can be in the hundreds of miles. Fortunately, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) is conducting site evaluations to locate a VA outreach health care clinic in either rural eastern Colorado or western Kansas. Today, in a letter, Senator Ken Salazar urged the VA to locate the new clinic in either Burlington or Yuma, Colorado, due to the large number of veterans living in the area, their existing health care facilities and their proximity to major highways. In the letter, Senator Salazar wrote, “Thousands of veterans who could benefit from a clinic live within a 60-mile radius of both these areas—7,000 near Yuma and 1,600 near Burlington. Additionally, both sites have existing medical facilities that would be ideal homes for a new VA clinic – the Yuma Hospital District and Clinics will be opening a new state-of-the-art facility in June, and the City of Burlington and the Kit Carson Memorial Hospital have both expressed interest in incorporating a new VA clinic into their facilities.” The full text of Senator Salazar’s letter is available below or by clicking here.
James Floyd Dear Director Floyd: I write in support of the applications of Burlington, Colorado and Yuma, Colorado to host a new VA outreach clinic for VISN 19. As I understand it, the VA is currently conducting site evaluations and will soon be making a decision on where to locate this facility. I am confident that eastern Colorado would be an ideal location to house this clinic, so that it may provide the most benefit to veterans who live in the rural areas of VISN 19. I have fought long and hard as a U.S. Senator to make sure the healthcare needs of our rural veterans are being met. This new VISN 19 clinic would go a long way toward improving the access of rural veterans to VA-provided healthcare. I have heard from countless Colorado veterans about the need for a clinic in eastern Colorado, and Congress itself has even recognized the need to expand VA healthcare services in rural Colorado. Thousands of veterans who could benefit from a clinic live within a 60-mile radius of both these areas—7,000 near Yuma and 1,600 near Burlington. Additionally, both sites have existing medical facilities that would be ideal homes for a new VA clinic; the Yuma Hospital District and Clinics will be opening a new state-of-the-art facility in June, and the City of Burlington and the Kit Carson Memorial Hospital have both expressed interest in incorporating a new VA clinic into their facilities. Finally, both of these sites are situated in ideal geographic locations near major highways. Yuma is located right off State Highway 34, which runs across northeastern Colorado. Burlington is situated off of Interstate 70, a major east-west thoroughfare. It is my understanding that you will be making a decision on the location of this new VISN 19 clinic very soon. As you evaluate the applications of the three locations that are currently being considered for this clinic, I ask that you consider the great merits of these Colorado sites. I thank you and look forward to working with you to make sure all of our veterans receive the high-quality healthcare they deserve.
Sincerely,
Ken Salazar
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