Press Releases
November 9, 2011
Conrad Continues Fight for Devils Lake Vets
Senator Reaffirms Importance of Community Clinic to VA Secretary
Washington – Senator Kent Conrad today urged Eric Shinseki, the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to uphold the VA's commitment to open a Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Devils Lake to care for area veterans.
"As we approach Veterans Day, it is important to reaffirm our commitment to America's veterans. Our nation made a solemn promise to care for these men and women when their duty was done. It is a promise that must be kept," Senator Conrad said.
Senator Conrad has been keeping the pressure on the VA to fulfill a commitment it made in 2004 to open additional veterans outpatient clinics in North Dakota in an effort to expand rural health care access for veterans. To date, the VA has expanded its network from three CBOCs in Grafton, Minot, and Bismarck, to include new clinics in Jamestown, Grand Forks, Dickinson and Williston. However, more than seven years later, the promise to open a Devils Lake clinic remains unfulfilled.
This summer, the VA announced a delay in plans to open the Devils Lake CBOC due to the area’s declining veteran population, arguing that many Basin area vets are already served by clinics in Grand Forks, Jamestown, and Grafton. Senator Conrad immediately wrote Shinseki asking him to commit the VA to opening the clinic as planned.
In response, the VA stated that a study of the issue is currently underway. The VA has suggested that Devils Lake veterans could be served by telehealth services, which allow patients in remote rural areas to consult with medical specialists via video technology. Senator Conrad strongly supports telehealth, which can serve as a wonderful, cost-effective complement to in-person care, but does not provide a complete substitute.
In a follow-up letter sent to Shinseki today, Senator Conrad again stressed the need for the VA to proceed with plans to construct a CBOC in Devils Lake.
"I want to make clear that the VA needs to keep its promise to give Devils Lake veterans the ability to meet with a doctor in their own community," Senator Conrad writes. "I would ask that you keep the VA’s commitment to veterans in the Devils Lake region by opening a CBOC that will provide regular, part-time access to in-person care from qualified physicians ."
