Washington, D.C. -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is announcing plans to open new community-based outpatient clinics in nine communities as part of its continuing emphasis on making VA medical care more accessible and closer to veterans' homes.
Three of the new clinics are designated for Indiana locations and two will be located in Missouri. The remainder will be in Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, and Kansas.
VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Kenneth W. Kizer, who approved the site selections, noted that this is the third round of clinic announcements this year, further increasing the options for veterans to receive VA care in the most appropriate setting for their needs.
"A pivotal element of VA's reengineering is the shift from a hospital, bed-based system to an ambulatory care-based system. Today's announcement brings the number of clinics approved this year to more than 80, and the total number approved since 1996 to more than 200," Dr. Kizer said.
Each of VA's 22 health networks around the country is continuing to examine where the need for clinics will be greatest, both short-range and in the long term. Overall, VA has more than 600 outpatient clinics of various types.
VA's emphasis on outpatient care reflects a trend in American medicine in general. New technology allows more and more conditions that once required hospitalization to now be treated on an outpatient basis.
