VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network, or VISN 17, serves a population of slightly over one million veterans residing in 134 counties stretching from the Oklahoma border to the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.  The population in this large geographic area range from urban centers such as Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin, to largely rural areas such as Bonham and Kerrville, to the rapidly expanding and largely Hispanic Lower Rio Grande Valley.  Several military installations in Central and South Texas afford the Network many opportunities to collaborate with the Department of Defense.