Washington, D.C. -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced plans for 25 new community-based outpatient clinics across the country.
Overall, VA has more than 600 outpatient clinics of various types. Reflecting a growing emphasis on outpatient care, 143 community-based clinics were approved in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 1998.
The projects were developed within VA's system of local health networks as part of a VA effort to decentralize health care and make it more accessible in the community. The local Veterans Integrated Services Network and parent facility for each clinic will determine activation timetables and operational details.
Some of the new clinics announced today may be located in existing space in the community to be leased by VA and staffed by VA health personnel, while others may provide services through a contract with an existing community service provider, such as a private group practice.
VA's increasing emphasis on outpatient care reflects a trend in American medicine generally that recognizes health care is primarily a local outpatient activity. VA has reengineered its health-care system in recent years to be more population-directed, community-based, and oriented to health promotion.
